New literacy program could overload work, leave kids behind: N.S. opposition

<p>HALIFAX – A new program aimed at helping Nova Scotia school children with their reading will strain already burdened teachers and could leave some struggling kids behind, the province’s opposition parties say.</p> <p>Education Minister Ramona Jennex announced the replacement program Tuesday, saying Succeeding in Reading will identify children who are having trouble with literacy as early as primary.</p> <p>But Liberal education critic Karen Casey said the new, less expensive approach saddles homeroom teachers with too much responsibility, which means some students could fall between the cracks.</p> <p>”I think it will cause the teachers’ attention to be spread even thinner … To me, it’s really a step back,” she said moments after the announcement at an elementary school in north end Halifax.</p> <p>”I think students are going to be left behind.”</p> <p>The new program replaces Reading Recovery, a popular school-based program that provided one-on-one, short-term literacy help to the bottom 20 per cent of Grade 1 children.</p> <p>It offered 30-minute lessons each school day for 12 to 20 weeks with a specially trained teacher.</p> <p>As a cost-saving move, the $7-million program was scrapped earlier this year despite criticism from the opposition and parents who said the program was a success.</p> <p>Under the new $5-million strategy, primary students will be evaluated on their reading, writing and speaking skills to determine if they need more help in Grade 1.</p> <p>Those students who need additional tutoring will work with their classroom teacher or a specialist, and could be lumped in with at least two other kids in a daily literacy session.</p> <p>Children will also stay in their classroom for the session rather than be separated from their peers, something the minister says could lessen any stigma associated with reading difficulties.</p> <p>Jennex said the key is to help vulnerable students before poor habits become entrenched.</p> <p>”By Grade 1, we’ll know exactly where the children need that support and we’ll have very intensive intervention,” she said.</p> <p>But the work will be done with fewer literacy specialists. There will be 39 positions, versus 47 under the old program, to service 97 schools.</p> <p>There were roughly 16,000 primary and Grade 1 students in the province’s school boards this year.</p> <p>The minister said teachers will also try to make sure students in grades 2 and 3 will continue using literacy skills after they leave the Grade 1 program.</p> <p>Much of the responsibility for ensuring the program is working falls to the school boards, which will have to identify which schools need help and report back to the Department of Education.</p> <p>Vic Fleury, president of the Nova Scotia School Boards Association, said people reacted strongly to the elimination of the previous program</p> <p>”The challenge is going to be to do more with less,” he said. “We’ll see in a year or so exactly how it does comparatively with how Reading Recovery did.”</p> <p>Tory education critic Chris d’Entremont said the replacement program appears to be a good start, but is short on details about future costs and how many positions will be created.</p> <p>”Even though they’re saying they’re investing $5 million in the framework … what are the extra costs of getting people trained up and ready for the program for September?” he said.</p>