Associated Education Minister Jan Tinetti visited Kaiapoi on Thursday to see firsthand how the school is handling structured literacy.
Tinetti, a former headmaster, said she was impressed by what she saw.
“Jason has been a great advocate for structured literacy and he stayed with me to come over, so it was something I’ve wanted to do for a while.
“Other schools use structured literacy, but this school has given it its own flavor and we want schools and teachers to show up.”
Tinetti said she was particularly impressed with the consistency of the school’s approach to structured literacy by teachers at each year level.
She said it will help implement the government’s literacy and math strategy, launched earlier this year, aimed at improving reading and math standards.
A recent survey by the Education Hub found that 35 percent of 15-year-olds did not have the required reading and math level.
Kaiapoi North School first piloted structured literacy in 2018, with North Canterbury literacy teacher Marina Mounsey working with junior team leader Mel Poynter.
“It’s been a huge shift for some teachers in the way they teach and it requires some professional development,” Poynter said.
The school’s approach revolved around phonetics, or the sounding of letters and words, which eventually led to better spelling and writing, as well as reading.
The trial was a success, so the following year it was rolled out across all year levels, Deputy Director Felicity Fahey said.
“It’s not a panacea. It won’t solve everything, but we believe it’s the best way to educate all children,” she said.
Tinetti said the research had been available for 30 years, but successive governments hadn’t picked it up until now.
The government has introduced the Better Start Structured Literacy funding for the education of new children, which several schools in North Canterbury have participated in.
Courses are now being offered at the University of Canterbury and the Department of Education aims to have 4,500 teachers across the country teaching structured literacy by the end of next year.
-By David Hill
Local Democracy Reporter
- Public interest journalism is funded by New Zealand on Air.