Ryan launches new literacy project

RYAN Tubridy helped eight Dublin schools roll out a
unique Write to Read programme that promises to improve literacy.

For the next two years, the eight determined schools
and communities will be partners in the second phase of the project that was
developed by Dr Eithne Kennedy from St Patrick’s College in Dublin.

It is expected that over 1,440 children from
disadvantaged areas across the city will be helped to develop as readers,
writers and thinkers.

Write to Read is a school and community based professional
development model that enables community educators to deliver high quality
literacy programmes for children.

The model grew out of the initial research by Dr
Kennedy which achieved impressive results in improving literacy attainment for
children.

It was awarded the International Reading Association’s
Outstanding Dissertation Award in 2010, only the second time since 1964 that
the award has gone to a university outside of the North American continent.

However, Dr Kennedy stressed that despite recent positive
coverage of the project, it was

“no silver bullet

? to rectify serious literacy
issues in disadvantaged schools where evidence suggests up to one in three
children struggle with literacy.

“Write to Read offers a good framework to deliver
literacy gains for children but it relies on the commitment of teachers and
communities to deliver the change process,

? she said.

“It also requires
significant investment in resources so that children have access to a wide
range of high quality reading resources and can read books pitched at exactly
the right level for them.

?

The eight partner schools and six community groups are
divided into three learning clusters. On the Southside it includes Inchicore
National School, Our Lady of Lourdes NS, Scoil Muire Gan Smal, St Michael’s
Estate Family Resource Centre Afterschool Project and the Inchicore Community
Drug Team.