More trained in ‘Reading Recovery’ Program shifts approach to teaching literacy

Seven teachers from the Rainy River District School Board were presented with certificates Friday after completing an intensive and specialized year-long “Reading Recovery” training program.
The program helps to support young children who are struggling with reading and writing.
This was the fourth training group to receive the “Reading Recovery” certification since the program started here in 1998.
The early intervention program exists internationally—in seven countries on three continents.
The newly-certified local teachers included Keira Chowan (J.W. Walker), Kendra Halvorsen (Riverview), Caren Fagerdahl (Crossroads), Wilma Esselink (SCAP), Hue Eldridge (Robert Moore), Jean Hebert (Huffman), and Sherri Hay (Sturgeon Creek).
“This was the hardest job I’ve ever done,” Chowan noted during the ceremony Friday morning at the board office to celebrate their achievement.
“Without passion you can’t do this job,” said Janet Maxwell, the “Reading Recovery” trainer/facilitator.
“It is so important the work that they do. . . . We’re making a fundamental shift in the way we approach teaching children and help them acquire literacy,” she stressed.
Maxwell explained “Reading Recovery” helps the lowest-achieving first-graders—the students who are not grasping the concepts that make reading and writing possible.
The teachers work with the students individually for a half-hour each school day for 12-20 weeks.
When the students meet grade-level expectations and demonstrate that they can continue to work independently in the classroom, new students are able to being the individual instruction.
“I’m so proud of the work you’ve done. It’s fantastic the commitment you’ve shown,” Maxwell told the teachers.
She stressed they never blamed the child. Instead they’ve asked themselves, “What can I do differently to reach that little person?”
She also said the “Reading Recovery” program has seen a lot of success.
“When you have a breakthrough with a student, you just want to cartwheel down the hall,” Maxwell enthused. “You know you’ve opened the door of literacy for that child and it’s so powerful.
“We’re able to make children successful before they experience failure,” she added.
Certification was awarded by Janice Van Dyke, a trainer from the Canadian Institute of “Reading Recovery” in Toronto.
She received her “Reading Recovery” training in New Zealand and assists in the implementation of the program across Canada.