THE BATTLEFORDS — One family's passion for literacy has given the Living Sky School Division (LSKYSD) through their Living Sky Innovation Fund financial support to launch their new reading intervention program.
"What if we could ensure every student is reading at grade level? Thanks to a generous donation from the Stromberg Family Fund, set up and managed by Robert and Sandra Stromberg, the Living Sky Innovation Fund will be able to launch special programming to support literacy across the division in hopes of achieving this dream," reads a Dec. 14 release from LSKYSD.
The division noted that children who can’t read at grade level by Grade 3 are four times less likely to graduate than a child who does read proficiently by that time.
In Living Sky School Division, 47 per cent of Grade 3 students began the 2023-24 school year reading below grade level.
"Literacy is a foundational skill, without it subjects such as math, science, social studies and more become increasingly difficult and could cause frustration. Problems in literacy may even explain some behavioural issues experienced in classrooms."
By addressing gaps and skills in reading, performance across all subjects is more likely to improve.
The literacy support program will allow students to work one-on-one with interventionists — likely retired teachers or other part-time education professionals — who will work specifically with Grade 2 and 3 students over eight weeks.
The funds will also enable guide materials to be purchased for the program and staff training.
The screening phase of the program will begin as early as January and continue being rolled out across the division as interventionists can be put in place.
“We are so thankful to the Strombergs for supporting our division with their generous donation, and for their willingness to ask, ‘what if we could?’ To help children learn to read is an incredible gift," said Brenda Vickers, director of education for LSKYSD.
