B.C. should follow Ontario by implementing early learning classes or suffer heavy social and economic damage down the road.

That was the message from experts at an early care conference at SFU's Wosk Centre for Dialogue on Tuesday — the same day that Ontario passed a bill to implement North America's first full-day early learning classrooms for four-and five-year-olds.

Dr. Charles Pascal, special adviser on early learning to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, told conference delegates "there is a big social and economic payoff" in investing in early learning.

University of B.C. Prof. Paul Kershaw presented his new study on "developmentally vulnerable" children, which shows 29 per cent enter kindergarten in B.C. at a learning disadvantage. The study calls for a $3-billion per year investment in early learning and support of young families in B.C.

Vulnerable children come up short in 104 benchmark tests taken in kindergarten, measuring physical, social, emotional and language skills.

The vulnerable "are much more likely to enter the criminal justice system," suffer poor health, drop out of school and underperform in Canada's economy, Kershaw said.

Kershaw calculates that neglecting to reduce the "child vulnerability debt" will cause B.C. to forgo 20 per cent in GDP growth over the next 60 years, which amounts to trillions of dollars wasted.

The study followed 140,000 children from across B.C. over 10 years.

via www.theprovince.com

A decision this week to give Vancouver students 10 extra vacation days next year as a cost-saving measure is expected to trigger a much bigger discussion about whether it's time for a calendar shakeup that would put an end to the standard two-month summer vacation.

"We need to start looking at the possibility of a balanced calendar," Patti Bacchus, chairwoman of the Vancouver board of education, said Tuesday, adding that trustees recently discussed the issue at a committee meeting and there was strong interest in re-arranging school holidays.

While not necessarily a cost saving, some education experts say a balanced school calendar provides educational benefits.

Researchers such as Carolyn Shields, an education professor at the University of B.C., say a balanced school calendar results in fewer student absences, less staff illness and better opportunities for disadvantaged children, who often fall behind their more privileged peers during long vacation periods.

via www.vancouversun.com