A northern Alberta elementary school is making progress in literacy.

At the Oct. 19 Northland School Division meeting, St. Theresa’s Principal Shelley Stevenson and Vice-Principal Dawn Powers reported on the school’s literacy and numeracy program.

It’s hard to be a teacher, Powers said. For example, in 5th grade, a teacher might have students read at a kindergarten level, some reading at a 5th grade level, and everywhere in between.

In the 2023-24 school year, Powers said, one of the 2nd grade teachers began using the University of Florida Phonemic Awareness (UFLI) course. She used it daily from October to June with her students. Powers taught first grade on and off throughout the year and taught the course to students when she did.

“It covers everything everyone needs to read,” Powers said.

At first, each lesson took about an hour, she said. However, as students got used to it, they finished in 20 minutes.

“It’s very engaging,” she says.

The course includes 128 lessons and uses various activities to help students recognize words.

“It fits with the Alberta curriculum,” Stevenson added.

All students who took the course improved, Powers said, including experienced readers and those who were well below grade level at the start of the year. In some cases the improvement was minimal, but there was always some.

The 2nd grade teacher was very excited this fall when all the 1st grade children could read, she added, which was a big improvement from the previous year.

This year, the school funded the course for all teachers, who have the opportunity to use it. Teachers in grades 4-6 can use it to intervene when children are reading below grade level.

For most students, phonemic awareness is the gap, Stevenson said.

Jesse Lamouche, administrator of the East Prairie Métis Settlement and Grouard, asked how often the student’s reading was assessed.

“We’re constantly evaluating these things,” Powers said.

Additionally, teachers submit formal evaluations three times a year to the school administration.

The other 2nd grade teacher uses a different but similar course.

“Again, big progress…” Powers said. “Even kids who can read enjoy it.”

Teachers also meet regularly to discuss their strategies for helping students learn to read.

“It gives kids confidence,” Stevenson said.

Advice. Robin Guild made the connection between reading confidence and attendance. He assumed that lack of trust would have a negative effect on attendance.

In response, school administrators mentioned that both St. Theresa Grade 2 classes had good attendance, which seemed to support Guild’s theory.

St. Theresa School is the public school in Wabasca, Alberta. It is managed by Northland. Students from Sandy Lake, 37 km southeast of Wabasca, are bused to this school. As of October 2024, this school had 239 students in grades K-6.

The other primary school in the community is operated by the Bigstone Education Authority.

Wabasca is located 325 kilometers north of Edmonton. The MD of Opportunity estimates the population of Wabasca at 3,300 inhabitants, including the inhabitants of the hamlet and several reserves of the Bigstone Cree Nation.