Northern Alberta elementary school says literacy rates are improving [Video]

A northern Alberta elementary school is making progress on literacy.

At the Oct. 19, Northland School Division meeting, St. Theresa principal Shelley Stevenson and vice-principal Dawn Powers reported on the school’s literacy and numeracy program.

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It is difficult to be a teacher, said Powers. For example, in Grade 5 a teacher may have students reading at a Kindergarten level, some reading at Grade 5 level, and everywhere in between.

In the 2023-24 school year, Powers said, one of the Grade 2 teachers started using the University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI) phonemic awareness course. She used this from October to June daily with students. Powers taught Grade 1 off and on throughout the year, and taught the course to the students when she did.

“It covers everything everyone needs to read,” said Powers.

At first, each lesson took about an hour to get through, …