Educators recommended using a new way to identify and help struggling readers: Winnipeg Free Press

Teachers and school leaders in Manitoba have been urged to change the way they identify struggling readers and intervene earlier to increase literacy rates.

The inaugural Manitoba Universal Screening Symposium called for requiring standardized check-ins for all students in at least kindergarten and grades 1 and 2 to detect early signs of conflict with research-backed “screeners.”

“Early identification of reading difficulties is imperative. Without this system, struggling readers are left playing catch-up as their gaps widen, while families scramble — or worse, remain in the dark,” said Carrie Wood, a Winnipeg elementary school teacher who helped set up this week the event.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Carrie (left) and Alden Wood (right) read books with their children, Joey, age seven, and Emmett, age eleven.

Wood had tears in her eyes as she spoke to about 150 attendees about her eldest child’s challenges and how she felt like a “fraud and fake” because neither the nightly storytimes nor her training helped. The stress led her to take a mental health leave from work, she said.

Her son Emmett, who was just in sixth grade, was diagnosed with dyslexia, a learning disability in reading and writing, about three years ago.

Only then did he receive the explicit and systematic phonics instruction he needed to read and write, but it wasn’t a quick fix, his mother said. He receives tutoring four times a week in the early morning.

Provincial guidelines are vague when it comes to promoting observation and early screening. They promote comprehensive instruction that addresses students’ specific needs, rather than taking a position on “reading wars.”

Simply put, one side of the debate about how to teach effective reading prioritizes systematically decoding words and putting sounds together. The other, which is widely researched, focuses on the meaning of words and contextual clues.

The Ontario Human Rights Commission – a proponent of the former – identified universal early screening as an effective and necessary tool that reduces the potential for bias in its groundbreaking “Right to Read” report.

The 2022 document indicated that ages four to seven are a “critical window” for learning foundational word reading skills and interventions, and concluded that problems in students were not identified early enough and could progress.

Many students failed because of delays, combined with inadequate core instruction and intervention efforts that were not based on evidence, the committee said.

Its counterpart in Manitoba is currently investigating concerns about limited explicit instruction and local reading instruction in general that generally reflects Ontario’s pre-Right to Read.

Wood and Dyslexia Canada hosted a symposium to discuss how Ontario’s findings and recent changes, including a new requirement for universal screening, could create positive changes locally.

“Every child has the right to learn to read within our public school system. It should not be something reserved for those who can advocate effectively, afford tutoring and access private assessments, as my family has been fortunate enough to do,” Wood said, after which the chamber erupted in applause Tuesday evening.

School leaders, doctors and teachers listened to several speakers who emphasized the need for change due to the number of struggling young readers.

“As a Grade 1 teacher, there was always a group — about 15 percent of my students — who weren’t learning to read the way we taught,” says Kim Turner, a teacher with about 25 years of experience, speaking about her interest in changing teaching practices .

Some schools in Manitoba, including Turner’s employer, Linwood School, have already overhauled their programs.

“Many school divisions are using universal screening in the early years as a practice and the department continues to monitor with an eye to future steps the province may take,” a Manitoba Education spokesperson said in a statement.

The spokesperson said the province is committed to improving literacy outcomes and increasing teacher awareness and skills to meet the needs of students with reading difficulties.

Gimli-based Evergreen School Division has moved to structured literacy, introducing the DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) screener last year to quickly assess each student’s reading in the early years.

“Using a universal tool helps us compare apples to apples. Previously, our teachers nominated students from their classes for interventions,” says speech therapist Britney Morrish.

Morrish said the old model made it difficult to determine who needed support and what that help should look like.

Students were often referred without details about the interventions they had received or their intensity, she said.

The Chief Academic Officer of Dyslexia Canada noted that a 2015 research report found that the Fountas and Pinell benchmark and assessment system, a common tool used in Manitoba, was only 54 percent accurate in predicting reading performance.