Pages turn as reading bug bites in Opotiki

By ROSALEEN MacBRAYNE


At Opotiki Primary - the poorest school in one of the country's poorest areas - the children are learning to love reading.

The introduction of targeted literacy programmes three years ago is working wonders and has attracted a lot of attention since the Herald featured it in a front-page column by Tapu Misa on Wednesday.

Most of the 240 students on the 99 per cent Maori roll are now reading above their chronological reading age and in a dramatic turnaround, reading is now "cool".

Thanks largely to their passionate principal, Tony Howe, youngsters in the decile one school's Maori immersion unit are not only bilingual but fast becoming biliterate.

With a professional background in linguistics, 48-year-old Mr Howe could see there was little point in expecting all parents - many of them seasonal workers, unemployed and gang members - to help their children read.

Often not well-educated themselves, they did not have the confidence and nor were there books, newspapers or computers at home, but they still wanted their children to do better than they had.

"The aim is to instil a love of books so we want to make sure the kids get it at school," said Mr Howe.

Living in the small town where he grew up, Mr Howe gets bailed up at community gatherings, rugby matches, walking down the main street and, yes, even when he's at the pub for a relaxing beer.

"I don't go there for parent-teacher meetings, but people come up for a chat."

Parents worried about their children's reading ability when Mr Howe came to the school in 2001 are now boasting about the improvement.

The children, too, have grown in confidence and are better behaved in class, said deputy principal Pam Morris. Being able to read well helped their other schoolwork.

Rather than worry about what should be the Government's, the school's or the parents' responsibility, Opotiki Primary put reading high on its agenda and the board of trustees invested teacher-aide funds in tutors, who Mr Howe trained.

This is not the standard remedial reading found in other schools. It targets everyone - good readers as well as those who have fallen behind. Using age-graded books, reading is a prescribed subject, not simply integrated in the curriculum under "English".

In a move parents and teachers say better equips the older ones for secondary school, Maori immersion unit students from year three join the mainstream for three half-hour English periods a week.

Mr Howe said English was the first language of all the children, but although they spoke it, they were less competent in reading, writing and comprehension.

Bill Woollett, a resource teacher of learning and behaviour, who also worked with other schools in the district, has seen Opotiki Primary readers forge ahead.

When it became apparent they did not comprehend everything they read, he introduced a specific three-level programme: basic recall, inferential reading and applied understanding.

Encouraged to express their views, the youngsters are now becoming skilled at "decoding texts".

Every child is assessed at the start and at the end of the programmes. They are also measured on a "national norm".

"The data is pretty much the same," said Mr Woollett. "I don't think there has been anyone who hasn't improved."

Board of trustees chairwoman Irene Cameron is highly satisfied.

"We looked a little bit outside the square and utilised our resources in a different way," she said.

"The kids are happier and more confident and the parents are very, very pleased."

Word to the wise

* Even the brightest children benefit from Opotiki Primary School's reading extension programmes.

* Because everyone takes part in the 10-week block courses, there is no stigma to getting extra help.

* Not only are youngsters learning to read better, they are being taught to interpret what they read.

* In 2001, 80 per cent of the pupils left for college reading below their chronological age. Now that percentage is level or above their reading age.

* Among the success stories are children reading up to five years above their age group.