By Jennifer Maloney
Strong demand for early learning programs amongst Vancouver’s Asian population is boosting registration for junior kindergarten schools across the Lower Mainland, says a leading childhood education expert.
“We’ve had a high level of enrollment from Asian families since we opened our first school in 1998,” said Natacha V. Beim, founder of Core Education & Fine Arts, a junior kindergarten school that services children from ages one to five. “That was back when most parents weren’t familiar with the concept of educating children at an earlier age. The Asian community clearly understood the concept of early education and our school’s purpose from the start.”
Asian students make up 85 per cent of the overall enrollment at cefa’s newest school, which opened in Richmond, B.C. earlier this month. Approximately 30 per cent of enrollment at cefa’s eight schools, which are located across the Lower Mainland, are also of Asian decent. Beim said enrollment in early learning programs like cefa’s puts children at a competitive advantage.
The state of the art school offers four large classrooms for small groups of students, a cinema, a chef, and beautiful outdoor facilities. Children learn reading, writing, music, math, science, drama, yoga, and many more disciplines, for a well-rounded education.
“Research has shown the brain’s most formative years happen before the age of six,” she said. “Children who attend proper junior kindergarten programs perform better in grade school, university and beyond.”
The latest Early Development Instrument study, released by UBC’s Department of Early Learning showed 29.9 per cent of Richmond’s children were considered developmentally vulnerable when they enter kindergarten. That’s slightly higher than the provincial average of 28.6 per cent. Beim expects enrollment in her junior kindergarten schools to continue to grow as local parents become more aware of the benefits.
“Vancouverites are just now starting to realize the importance of early learning,” said Beim. “However, the Asian community may be at a slight advantage as they’ve placed importance on early childhood education for quite some time.”
For more information on cefa’s learning programs visit. www.cefa.ca