District Students Leap Forward in Literacy Rates

The Board of Education for the Cowichan Valley School District is celebrating with students and staff after district literacy rates showed a double-digit jump last year. 

A change in teaching and assessment approaches over the last number of years has resulted in Grade 4 literacy rates improving 12.6% and Grade 7 rates increasing by 10.5% within the district. In BC, literacy means a student’s ability to understand, critically analyze, and create a variety of forms of communication, including oral, written, visual, digital, and multimedia, to accomplish one’s goals. Literacy applies to reading, writing, speaking and listening skills across a variety of subject areas.  

Cowichan’s literacy team, led by a group of literacy support teachers, classroom teachers, education assistants and school-based administrators brought together by Acting Superintendent Darlene Reynolds and resourced by the Board of Education have spent the last number of years analyzing student data and identifying tools and teaching practice to improve both to benefit students.  

“The Board is tremendously proud of these results and so grateful to our staff for the hard work it takes to make these changes. We know that every time these literacy rates increase, it means another student being able to go home and read to their parents or understand materials in their classes. Literacy is the foundation to a strong education, and a strong education is the foundation to student’s future success,” said Cathy Schmidt, Chair of the Board of Education for the Cowichan Valley School District.  

“Our educators have shown an incredible commitment to reflect, learn and work to continuously improve what we do to benefit our students; I want to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our staff. These results are a celebration for our district and for school communities. These results are life-changing,” said Acting Superintendent Darlene Reynolds. 

Part of the success of process is the continual reflection and updating of teaching practice, so while staff are celebrating, they are also looking to the upcoming school year to continue improving support for student learning, including beginning focused work for numeracy.