St. Teresa's Primary Literacy Project   (Continued)

The post-test was conducted on St. Teresa's children and on the children in the control schools in late May. The results were very exciting. The children in the reading project had improved on the average of 10 percentile ranks since the pretest. The children in the control schools improved marginally, although in both cases their average scores were higher than St. Teresa's. Dr. O'Sullivan of the Center for the Application of Developmental Science of Memorial University analyzed and interpreted the results for us. She told us that the scores indicated the improvement in reading scores could confidently be reported as being the direct result of the reading instruction and not by chance. A parent survey yielded one hundred percent support for the continuation of the program for the following year. We received comments such as, "My son is not afraid to try new words now," "Homework is a pleasure and not a fight," "She is much more confident about reading than ever before and is willing to take risks."

While the project was always exciting, it was not always easy. Acquiring the materials and facilitating professional development took several months. Teachers were challenged to restructure their classrooms and to alter their teaching styles in ways that sometimes felt quite intimidating. Administrative routines had to be reworked and meetings were frequent. Adequate and accurate reporting to parents within the Department of Education's Pathways framework was a hurdle to overcome. Parent night had to be restructured. The way was not always clear.

The most important reward in the implementation of the project, however, was the new excitement generated in the children about reading. They loved their new books and they were encouraged by their own success. In some cases, as self esteem improved, behavior concerns lessened. Reading achieved a very high profile. Spontaneously, children stopped teachers in the hall to tell them about a new story or a new reading accomplishment. They wanted to read to anyone who entered their classroom - to media who visited and even to Premier Brian Tobin when he toured our school! (He happily obliged.)

During the current school year the project has been extended to include grade three students. Because of the reorganization in our district, many of the teachers and students are new to the program so, in many ways, it feels as if we are starting all over again. Once again, we have applied a research design with a control school and standardized pre- and post-testing. The major advantages this year, of course, are that we know that the approach is effective and we move forward with increased confidence.

The St. Teresa's school community would like to gratefully acknowledge the very generous $10,000 contribution from the Literacy Development Council of Newfoundland and Labrador. In particular, we would like to thank Dr. Bill Fagan for his time, expertise, and continuous support. A number of agencies have contributed to the success of this project, and as a result our children have met with so much success and are so enthusiastic and excited about their reading competence that their exhilaration is contagious! Thank you sincerely for helping to bring our children another step along the way to life long learning and continued success. If you are interested in knowing more about this project you may contact: Gwen Maguire, St. Teresa's Elementary School (579-9111) or Maureen Dunne, Avalon East School Board (758-2389).