Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

RANKIN INLET (May 19/99) - A unique community approach to improving literacy in the Leo Ussak elementary school in Rankin Inlet began last week with more than 40 volunteers signing up to help improve student reading skills.

The program is the brainchild of principal Cheryl Forbes.

Community volunteers sit down to listen as the children read to them and then take their turn reading material selected by the students themselves.

Forbes says the initiative is aimed at improving students' language skills. She says volunteers come to the school for an hour a week and either choose the grade level they would like to work with or have the school select it for them.

"I decided there had to be some way of involving the community in helping the kids in our school develop their language skills," says Forbes. "We've always told people to come and spend time in the school, but we didn't have anything specific for them to do with the kids."

"We have 40 people signed up and I know there are more coming, so I'm absolutely thrilled with the response. When I first mentioned this to the District Education Authority they were very supportive about the idea and that was greatly appreciated."

Forbes says she was talking about her idea to friend Ann Shaver and was quite surprised to find out Shaver had seen a similar program in Toronto. She told Forbes she was impressed with the results she saw in Toronto and that convinced the principal to move ahead with her idea.

"I had no idea of the Toronto program's existence at all, but it was amazing the similarities between the two. This program is not just for kids who need to improve their language skills, however, it's for everybody to enjoy themselves."

A volunteer works with three different students during their hour. All students have two books ready that they would like to read to the volunteer and one book they want to have read to them.

The student and volunteer go to a quiet spot to work together for 20 minutes and the volunteer gives the child positive feedback by making an entry into their journal.

Volunteers then indicate in another journal for the student's teacher where the child had difficulty. Teachers may use the volunteer's information to work with the child later.

Since the school offers both English and Inuktitut programs, Inuktitut students have been matched up with volunteers who can read in Inuktitut so reading will be done in both languages.

Angie Kubluitok of the Community Learning Centre was among the first volunteers to take part in the program. She says she thought the program was a good idea when she first heard about it and thinks it will be successful.

"I wanted to try it to help out and I'll stick with it as long as it continues," said Kubluitok. "The main reason I wanted to get involved was that I wanted the Inuit kids to listen to their language and be able to see the symbols as I read it to them. I feel this is very important to our younger students."