After doubling up on efforts to enhance student literacy across Trillium Lakelands District School Board (TLDSB) in recent years, superintendent Jay MacJanet says the school system is starting to see the fruits of its labour.
During a visit to Haliburton last month for a screening of the documentary The Truth About Reading, MacJanet said the board has seen improved statistics for reading and comprehension at the primary level, with students tested in Grades 3 and 6 performing above the provincial average.
For the 2023-24 school year, 76 per cent of Grade 3 students in TLDSB were reading at or above the expected level – five per cent higher than the provincial average, and nine per cent more than in the 2018-19 school
year, when the board started beefing up on staff professional development and adapting instructional practices, MacJanet said.
The superintendent noted 81 per cent of Grade 6 students are reading at their age level, on par with the provincial average of 82 per cent, but a five per cent increase board wide from six years ago.
“In the past five years, when you look at our progress we have changed for the better,” MacJanet said, noting provincial averages have dropped about three per cent over the same period. “I think the biggest thing we’ve done is focus on the early interventions in our primary grades, starting in Kindergarten, and giving our teachers
more research, more practical applications to help them understand reading strategies they can pass on to kids in the classroom.”
The results are even better when narrowing in on the County – for the past three years, Grade 3 reading levels at Archie Stouffer, Cardiff, J.D. Hodgson, Stuart Baker and Wilberforce elementary schools had increased 12 per cent, with Grade 6 statistics improving three per cent.
There have been improvements in writing, too, MacJanet said – up 13 per cent for Grade 3s and five per cent for Grade 6s.
At the secondary level, the number of students passing the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test at Hal High has
increased 11 per cent.
While instruction took a hit during the virtual learning years, MacJanet said TLDSB continued to send staff for training on new teaching methods and initiatives.
Then, in 2023, the board shifted its focus to “more of a research-based assessment using evidence-based resources” to analyze student performance data. He said this more clearly shows the board what’s working and
what isn’t.
A new literacy advisory panel has been established to guide decision making, with instructional coaches hired for all elementary schools in the system.
“What that means is teachers have someone with specific training working side-by-side with them on strategies
that have the biggest impact with kids, MacJanet said.
He feels establishing a high base level in reading is the most important aspect of early-years education.
“If you can give kids a solid foundation and get them to a solid reading level by Grade 3, that sets them up for success,” MacJanet said. “If our kids become better readers, it helps them with all levels of instruction whether it be math, science, or any other subject.”
Making a difference
Haliburton mom Tiffany Walt said her seven-year-old daughter Ruby, a Grade 1 student at Stuart Baker (SBES), is thriving under the new system.
“We did stuff before she started school, but in Kindergarten we saw a lot of progress. She was starting to understand the two letter sounds, when there’s a silent ‘e’ – she learned all those little tools to the point that
she’s now thriving in Grade 1 and can very fluently read,” Walt said.
Ruby is enrolled in French Immersion at SBES, where she does 60 per cent of her work in French and 40 per cent in English. Having no French background herself, Walt said her daughter is now teaching her different aspects of the language, using songs she’s learned in school.
Walt runs a home daycare, where she looks after 10 school-aged children from Kindergarten to Grade 4. She said all but one are reading at or above their age level.
“We play a lot of board and card games, things like headband where someone wears a band with a word on it and the other kids have to try and not say that word and have their friend figure it out – they’re all doing really well with their reading and talking.
“Ruby absolutely loves school, no questions asked… what they’re doing, at least with Ruby and some of these other kids, seems to be working,” Walt said.
To the future
While saying the board is “ahead of where we thought we’d be” moving into 2025, MacJanet said there’s still work to be done. This year, TLDSB has expanded its literacy focus group to students from Grades 6 to 8.
“We’re branching into junior intermediate for those who continue to have difficulties or different learning styles – it’s important we find ways for teachers to support them in various ways in the classroom so that nobody gets left behind.
“We’re working with our different curriculums and portfolios, like specialized services and Indigenous studies, to make this reading focus cross-curricular,” he said.
MacJanet said the board is also working with parents to access resources and implement methods at home to help with their child’s development. “It could be as simple as reading with them before bed.”
One area Walt said she’d like to see improved is communication with teachers.
“They send home report cards twice a year… but if we had more in terms of letting us know where our child is at, if
they’re ahead in their reading, doing OK, or behind – that would be helpful. That would give parents a baseline, something we can use to see how much more work our kids should be putting in when they’re not at school,” she said.
