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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
When her school received low reading scores in Alberta provincial testing, Weledeh principal Simone Gessler took an alternative approach.

Gessler decided a new program design was needed to address the issue of students who are below the desired reading level while still challenging students who are doing well academically.

"Yes, we need to support our struggling readers," said Gessler.

"But we need to provide all students with a greater understanding of what literacy is."

After working on creating such a program last year, Weledeh School is currently piloting a new literacy support program called the Literacy Intervention Block.

The program's main goal is to have 80 per cent of Weledeh students receiving grade-level reading scores.

For 30 minutes per day, every student, teacher and staff member is involved in a literacy activity - called an intervention block. During this time, students are not in their regular class groups - instead they are broken into three tiers depending on literacy level.

Tier 1 is for students who have either reached or surpassed their grade level in reading. Tier 2 students are approaching their goal literacy level, but benefit from additional support in certain subject areas. Tier 3 is for students who require more intensive help with their literacy skills. These students are broken into small groups and receive targeted instruction focused on the areas where they test poorly.

Many of the students who are lacking in reading skills also struggle with attendance, said Gessler.

"If they're not here every day, it of course takes them much longer," she said. "Because if you don't come every day, you're not learning how to read."

A key to helping with literacy is early intervention, said Gessler.

"We know that the earlier we can catch them, the more successful they are," she said. "And so, even with the targeted intervention for the students from Grade 6 up, it's helping support them, but the gaps are so much larger that we don't see the same kind of progress."

Between September and December, 42 per cent of Weledeh students received literacy enhancement instruction during their intervention block, while 13 per cent received special programming. During the same time, 87 per cent of students improved their literacy skills, 18 per cent maintained their literacy level, and seven per cent regressed.

The vast majority of the students who regressed are advanced students who tested well above the target scores, said Gessler.

Grades that have the highest proportion of students in Tier 3, who need special programming, are kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 7.

In kindergarten, more than 25 per cent of students tested in the lowest tier, while just under 30 per cent of Grade 1 students tested in the lowest bracket. About 13 per cent of Grade 7 students are in tier 3. No students between Grades 2 and 5 are in tier 3, according to data collected during the first two rounds of testing.

The Literacy Support Program is in addition to the school's regular language arts programming, said Gessler.

The program's first year is being funded by a one-time grant of $55,000 through aboriginal student achievement grants made available by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment.

Sixty-eight per cent of students receiving intervention are aboriginal, said Gessler, and 84 per cent of aboriginal students have increased their reading scores since the program launched.

There is no money in the school's budget to cover the cost of the program next year, said Gessler, although they have submitted proposals for funding from outside agencies.

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