2025 When Children Succeed Project Report

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The When Children Succeed (WCS) project is designed to close the well-documented achievement gap that exists between low-socio-economic status (low-SES) students and their more fortunate peers – and contribute to ensuring all students are achieving at grade level for both literacy and numeracy by the time they finish grade 3.

PROJECT FACTS:

• Low-SES children enter kindergarten up to 1.5 years behind their peers. They must close that gap, particularly with respect to literacy, before they pivot from learning to read (Grades K-3) to reading to learn (Grade 4 onward).

• The WCS project completed its 7th year of operation in June of 2025.

• Project costs are $1.5 M per year.

• The project provides additional teachers and resources to help overcome learning barriers caused by poverty for 1,069 students attending seven elementary schools operating in low-SES neighbourhoods in Saint John.

THIS YEAR:

We are pleased to report the achievement gap in both literacy and numeracy is closed.

By the end of grade 2, and also sustained through the end of grade 3, WCS students exceeded the performance of the control group in all measures.