Literacy Program

Students entering our school in the fifth grade are often reading below grade level, sometimes up to three grades below where they should be. This problem is especially apparent among immigrant families for whom English is not the first language. Whether their low reading levels stem from lack of family-literacy skills, cognitive difficulties, insufficient reading programs in elementary school or childhood trauma that interfered with learning in the critical years of kindergarten through third grade, many of our students come to us without the skills needed to read to learn.

Our full-time Literacy Specialist begins the program in August before school starts. During the school year, the Specialist works in tandem with classroom teachers and meets with them, our School Counselor and parents/guardians in an effort to deal with any personal problems that may impede students’ success. Communication with both the students and all concerned adults about the goals and work of the Literacy Program is intrinsic to a positive outcome.