Board sees first graduate from reading program

First-grader Josh Wilson was the guest of the honour at last night’s Rainy River District School Board meeting to show off his much improved reading skills.
A student in Charleen Gustafson’s class at Donald Young School in Emo, Wilson was the first graduate from the “Reading Recovery” program started in district schools last September.
“[The program’s] done a lot of good,” said his mother, Bonnie. “He couldn’t read in September and now his teacher said he reads better than the average first-grader.”
Until October, Wilson was at “level 0,” where reading a simple three-word sentence was difficult and comprehension was only possible with associated pictures.
For four months, he and two other DYS students spent a half-day of school every second week to work with Gustafson, who, in turn, had received instruction from Atikokan teacher Kathy Livicker.
When Wilson graduated from “Reading Recovery” on Jan. 14, he read at a level 19 capability with 95 percent accuracy.
By the end of grade one, most students are expected to read at level 15 capability. The average reading level for a grade one class at the end of January is level eight or nine.
“‘Reading Recovery,’ and Josh’s incredible efforts, have changed the course of this person’s school life–he truly exemplifies excellence,” lauded DYS principal Nancy Fretter.
“The idea behind the program is to catch students who are having problems with reading while they’re still in grade one, instead of having the student go on to the next grade and have to take special ed.,” she explained.
“Of course, Josh is now reading at a grade two level and the year isn’t even over for him,” she noted.
Jessica Roen and Carlee Bosma, the two other DYS students in the program, are expected to graduate soon.
Eventually, all grade one teachers with the public school board here will be trained to administer the “Reading Recovery” program.