Case Studies – RWMP

Taita Central School, Lower Hutt

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This is an account from one of the schools, or clusters of schools, that have received funding from the Reading, Writing and Mathematics Proposals Pool (RWMP) to support programmes in reading, writing and mathematics for students years 1 to 6.

The issues

Taita Central is a decile 1 contributing school with a roll of around 150 students. A high proportion of the students are from low-income homes. Māori and Pacific Island families predominate in the area, and many are transient, as families move to find work or suffer other disruptions. The school's records show that the "revolving population" is a major factor in the children's under-achievement.

Using a range of performance measures, the school noted that although students made good progress in strong reading and literacy programmes in the early years, students in years 5 and 6, who were about to go on to intermediate school, were not sustaining progress and were inadequately equipped for success. The school wanted to lift their game to ensure that all students leaving the school could demonstrate literacy skills commensurate with national expectations for their age group.

The planning

The school's main focus in planning was to enhance teachers' understandings and skills so that all students would experience exciting, innovative programmes that stretched the most able and addressed needs as they arose. The emphasis was to be on continuing professional growth and building supportive, collegial relationships.

Willing parents were identified and worked with the Literacy Leader and Resource Teacher of Reading to develop a daily reading support programme based on Pause, Prompt and Praise techniques. Reading Recovery was successful in the junior school and so the target group for the tutoring programme was selected from the oldest at risk children in the school.

Reading resources were also to be upgraded, and the library developed to be a welcoming, well-stocked, well-organised facility to support the literacy and learning programmes.

The actions

An experienced and highly-skilled teacher was designated from the outset as the Lead Literacy Teacher. A trusted educational facilitator was employed for intensive, sustained staff development. He spent two extended observation sessions with each teacher per term, followed by specific feedback, both about detailed literacy practices and about classroom management and group work that ensured all children were motivated and on task. Full-staff sessions introduced or reinforced specific concepts identified during these observations. To develop a strategy for whole-school improvement, teachers worked together to construct detailed benchmarks to assess children's work across all the English achievement objectives, refined to three stages within each level.

Parent tutors were trained, and children identified who most needed their support. Five tutors – one each day – read with each of the ten selected children. They used a space adjacent to the library, so had access to a variety of materials as well as the texts selected to match the student's needs. Major purchases of new resources were also organised along with the library, so that all were ultimately to be centrally catalogued and accessible.

The results

The school has monitored students' progress meticulously, and has seen encouraging improvement across the board. One hundred percent of children in year 1 achieve at or above the levels of expected achievement. This proportion gradually declines in later years, but nevertheless there has been encouraging progress. For instance, in the year 2000, only 5 percent of year 6 students met the expectations, but in 2001, the proportion was 56 percent – a great step forward. It is interesting to note that neither gender nor ethnicity seem to play significant roles in student achievement, and ESOL children are performing at a level comparable with their peers. The greatest area of disappointment remains the slow progress of children who have had many school moves, and have arrived at Taita lacking esteem and competencies. The school has a strong sense of responsibility to its students, but admits to feeling defeated where only a short time is available to redress the impact of disruptions.

The parent tutor programme has proved exceptionally successful with older children, and the school plans to extend it. It is carefully managed, and the variety of tutors – a different one each day – seems to add to the interest and stimulation for the children. The parents, who are often learners themselves, establish warm and nurturing relationships and know they are valued. Access to the attractive library is another helpful feature. The tutors recognise that learning to read lifts self-esteem faster than almost anything else for many young people, so they are more confident in participating in class.

The staff development programme, however, is the cornerstone. Having an expert "outsider", who brings fresh eyes as well as wide experience, has been very successful, because he established an open, consultative process. The structure of observation, feedback, and explicit modelling of good practice is continuing. It has helped teachers to feel trusted as professional partners, and is reinforced by committed and enthusiastic leadership from the principal and lead literacy teacher.

The systematic construction of school-wide benchmarks and statements of expectations, using students' work as the basis, and sharing knowledge and perceptions, developed a very strong sense of collegiality and purpose among all teachers. Students' work is regularly marked and moderated by at least two teachers, so that they are continually refining and consolidating their understandings, and the expectations are clearly conveyed to students. Teachers share their goals, aim high, and focus on moving the school and students forward. They are, as one teacher put it "under the same umbrella".

Taita Central aims to be a community facility and hub of local support. It is, as the principal expressed it, "starting to fly"!

Contact:

Taita Central School, Churton Crescent, Lower Hutt

2001

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