During the 1998-9 school year, St. Teresa's School on Mundy Pond Road in St. John's launched an innovative project in primary reading. School staff across the grades were very concerned about low achievement rates of their students on standardized test scores. There was a consensus that children's scores on any test could only improve if children's ability to read improved. They also agreed that the approach had to be radically different; a 'band-aid' solution was not sufficient.

The special services team of the school began reviewing the research and consulted with experts on reading and literacy. Dr. Julia O'Sullivan, Dr. Patricia Canning, Dr. Bill Fagan, Ms. Linda Coles, Ms. Martha Sanger and later, Ms. Margaret Ryall were invited to meetings to help develop a strategy and to act as a sounding board for ideas developed by the team. Over a period of several months, a plan evolved that became reality: children were divided into ability groups for an hour and a half each day and, using an eclectic approach, were instructed exactly at their own level, targeting specific reading difficulties. Children with identified reading needs were supported with additional small group reading time throughout the day. Groups were not fixed - when a child acquired the skills being taught in one group and was recommended by that teacher, he/she was evaluated by the reading teacher and moved to the next group.

The instructional approach was multidimensional and effective strategies from multiple sources were utilized. All of the resources of the school were focused on supporting the reading program during the designated instructional reading time, i.e. classroom teachers, special education teachers, challenging needs teachers, retired teacher volunteers and student assistants were assigned into appropriate groups. The school schedule for physical education and music was redesigned so that no primary class was interrupted during reading time.

Because reading research indicates that children with reading difficulties need to receive remediation by age eight, it was agreed that the focus of our efforts would be our six classes of children in grades 1 and 2. Every child was individually administered several screening devices to determine individual reading levels and to identify the general nature of any reading difficulty. The results of these tests were used to divide the children into ten ability groups. The most competent readers formed the larger groups and those experiencing difficulties were placed in smaller groups. The initiative became an action research project when it was decided to use a standardized test as a pre-test and later as a post-test. Two university researchers were hired to administer the Woodcock-Johnson Test of Achievement. Two similar schools using the traditional reading approach agreed to act as control schools and their children in grades 1 and 2 were also administered the standardized test.

While the assessments were going on in the early fall, teachers received professional development in reading strategies such as paired reading, shared reading, guided reading, phonemic awareness, running records and classroom management strategies. Teachers learned how to do a literacy profile and individual portfolios were set up for each child. There were workshops on the Department of Education's Pathways document and reporting mechanisms were developed both by the school and district staff that complemented the new district report card.

A fund-raising effort was launched and significant support was obtained from the Avalon East School Board, the Department of Education, the NLTA, and the Newfoundland and Labrador Literacy Council. We also received support from the Sisters of Mercy and from St. Teresa's School Council. These funds were spent on the acquisition of quality children's literature and on teaching aids. The Avalon East Board agreed to allow the school to use a classroom teaching unit in the capacity of a reading lead teacher. This position was award to Ms. Gwen Maguire, a reading specialist. Ms. Maguire provided the daily leadership and support that was required of this very demanding project.

The focused instructional time began in earnest in January and the children were instructed using the new methods and materials until the early weeks of June.

Continued...