Three years after launching a new literacy program at Haliburton Highlands Secondary School, Trish Dobson is starting to see the fruits of her labour.
The teacher-turned-chief librarian has been working closely with students behind on their reading since the fall of 2021. That was a difficult time at the school, with the COVID19 pandemic forcing kids to spend months learning from behind a screen rather than inside a classroom.
“A lot of kids were struggling – some more than others,” said Dobson, who had experience working with youth on their reading and comprehension through her daughter, who is dyslexic.
After spending years refining her at-home program, Dobson made several breakthroughs with her daughter, who she says can read just fine today. Having seen the impact extra tutoring can have, Dobson pitched opening it to students at the high school.
“I have a lot of empathy for kids who are dyslexic. Now that I understand the issue and what’s going on, I’m better placed to help,” she said. Dobson noted when she was a teacher, she was often confused when kids she knew to be intelligent hit a brick wall with reading.
First, she reached out to kids she knew were struggling as an English teacher. She would work with them one-on-one and in small groups, decoding words and coming up with ways to break them down. She estimates helping a dozen youth consistently across the first two years, and is now working with Grade 9 classes on comprehension.
Dobson said she’s passionate about her work. While a teacher with Trillium Lakelands District School Board since 1998, she believes she’s done her best work since moving to the library.
“You keep track of all the wins, the differences you make – there was one student who came to me in Grade 9 reading at a very low level. I’ve worked with him for almost three years, and while he isn’t reading at grade level, he has progressed massively. He can read his texts now, which is kind of important for a teenager,” she said.
Her program has caught the eye of higherups at TLDSB. Dobson said she started prepping students for the Grade 10 literacy test last year, which paid huge dividends. The Haliburton school’s passing rate climbed from 70 per cent in 2022 to 87 per cent last year.
Dobson was honoured for her contributions with a director’s recognition award at a March TLDSB board meeting.
She was nominated by HHSS principal Jenn Mills, who said, “to call Trish our ‘librarian’ does not encompass the things she has done to reinvent what a librarian can do to impact students’ lives daily… the difference in all students’ reading, comprehension, and confidence over the semesters has been amazing. She is making a real difference.”
Wes Hahn, director of education at TLDSB, thanked Dobson for “going above and beyond to implement innovative solutions” to real problems students are facing in the classroom.
While she admits to being surprised by the award, Dobson said it’s further proof that her program is working. She is assisting colleagues at Lindsay Collegiate Vocational Institute and Huntsville High School to implement similar initiatives there, while continuing to enhance her offerings in Haliburton.
“I think we’ve created a real culture of literacy here at HHSS and at the library. If we can continue to build on that, and spread it to some of our other communities too, there’s no end to the number of students who stand to benefit,” Dobson said.
