The Chinook School Division held an event on September 7 that celebrated students’ literacy achievements. Three years ago, the Chinook Board made balanced literacy the division focus and June, 2011 marked its culmination.

Guests heard about the thorough and researched plan that was put into place and the level of support that was provided by the Board. Teachers who spoke affirmed that they engaged in new learning with the conviction that the balanced literacy approach would benefit students. Teachers, literacy coaches and administrators talked about how students became engaged within balanced literacy.  They also shared how exciting it was to see and hear students using the language of balanced literacy as they became independent learners. A parent spoke about how gratified she was with her daughter’s growth in literacy and how this has had the added benefit of increasing her confidence beyond the classroom.

Literacy assessments indicate that 79% of students (Grade 3, 6, 9) are meeting expectations. Of the group of students who were first exposed to balanced literacy in Grade 1, 20% more of them were meeting expectations by the end of Grade 3. More specifically, boys within this group grew from 51.7% meeting or exceeding benchmarks to 76.2% meeting or exceeding benchmarks for their grade level.

Leveled Literacy Intervention is a strategy that provides intensive support to Grade 1 and 2 students who are not experiencing success within the regular program and are at risk of falling further behind. The approach has been successful to the extent that at the end of the intervention 16 of 17 (94%) of Grade 1 students and 34 of 38 (89%) of Grade 2 students were successfully meeting expectations.

Literacy Coordinator, Kathy Robson, shared that a literacy maintenance plan has been put into place.  This plan allows for in service sessions in the areas of balanced literacy for teachers who are new to Chinook.  The school division has maintained a Literacy Coach who will provide follow up to new teachers.  A Leveled Literacy Intervention coach has also been maintained to assist schools in training teachers and in implementing leveled literacy intervention within their schools.