The Spirit of the Project:

Our main goal of our literacy focus at Whiteside is to nurture a lifelong love of reading in every child and empower them to become confident, successful readers.

During our semi-annual reading assessments, we see more growth in the decoding, fluency, and comprehension skills of our grade 3-7 students. We still see a larger group of students in Kindergarten to grade 1 that are developing their reading skills. As a result of our data, we are launching this special literacy project to ensure every student gets the right support at the right time.

By focusing on building strong foundational skills early, we help students gain the confidence and motivation they need to succeed throughout their school years.

How It Will Work (The Action):

To achieve this, we will have a dedicated block of time each day where all our primary students will focus on building their reading skills.

During this time, students will be placed in small, flexible groups based on their specific learning needs, rather than just their grade level. Reading groups will be formed based on one-on-one reading assessments and diagnostics. Ongoing assessments will be completed to ensure students are being supported and challenged at appropriate levels.

This means each child in primary classrooms will receive targeted instruction from a teacher, focusing on the exact skills they need to practice taking the next step in their reading journey.

These groups are designed to be fluid, and as your child's skills grow, they may move to a different group that suits their new learning goals. This dedicated time is in addition to the regular literacy instruction they already receive in their classroom.

We look forward to implementing this project to ensure each child at Whiteside is provided targeted reading intervention at their level to develop their reading skills and foster a love of reading.