Canadian Press file photo

By Justin Goulet

Literacy, Numeracy Supports

Province putting $45 million into extra literacy, numeracy supports for Grades 1-3 students

May 28, 2021 | 12:56 PM

The provincial government is making an investment in Alberta’s students.

Premier Jason Kenney noted on Friday that education has been disrupted for many students because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift to online learning.

So, the province will be providing up to $45 million in new funding for school authorities to help young learners in Grades 1 through 3 that are struggling with pandemic-related learning disruptions.

The funding will focus on the areas of literacy and numeracy. Kenney said those are two areas where “many young kids are struggling.”

“Based on research on reading levels carried out here in Alberta and elsewhere, we know that students in Grades 1 to 3 are the ones who have been most negatively impacted by school closures and interruptions,” stated the Premier.

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“We also know that schools that intervene quickly with struggling readers are able to help students catch up to grade level.”

Kenney cited research on reading levels conducted by University of Alberta professor Dr. George Georgiou found that last fall, students in Grades 1 to 3 were reading about eight to 12 months behind their normal grade level.

He noted that, “schools that intervened quickly with struggling readers were able to help about 80 per cent of students catch up to grade level. This is the kind of success we want to duplicate with targeted literacy and numeracy intervention supports for kids.”

“This funding compliments work already underway to assess reading levels among students in kindergarten through grade three.”

Alberta’s Education Minister Adriana LaGrange said the funding will give school authorities the opportunity to offer “intensive interventions” for up to 16 weeks for those students in Grades 1 through 3 who are identified by authorities as needing additional supports when they return to the classroom in the fall.

“School authorities are already using a variety of standardized assessments with their students and they will have flexibility in what assessments they use to identify students who need these additional supports.”

“Public and separate school boards, francophone, regional authorities, charter school operators and accredited funded private school operatives will also have flexibility to design programming to best meet those local needs.”

LaGrange said funding will be available for school authorities through an application process to Alberta Education that identifies the number of eligible students based on teacher assessments.

Grande Prairie Public School Division Board Chair John Lehners says this type of support is needed for students within the division.

“Our board is grateful for this new funding targeted to support the early learning needs of students next year. COVID has truly hindered the learning of our children. We feel that this announced support, to close the learning gap, will make a real difference in the futures of our students.”

Additional details on the application process will be made available in the coming weeks.

(Lethbridge News Now – with files from Shaun Penner)