The mandate of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of School Councils is primarily students of the school system Kindergarten to Grade 12. However, as generally recognized, a cycle of illiteracy contributes to the issues in the school system and the Federation cannot ignore the preschool or adult years in its considerations.

Scope of the Problem

Research is showing that preparation for school starts before conception. Children arrive at school at different levels of preparedness depending on their preschool experiences. We need to educate teenagers and young adults about nutrition and other lifestyle issues, such as the effects of smoking, alcohol and drugs, in order that they enter pregnancy in good health. We need to continue during the prenatal months with information on parenting as well on topics such as fostering pre- literacy skills and self-esteem etc. In that way, the chances that children will enter school well-prepared are increased. Children of parents who lack literacy skills are at a disadvantage as well. Thus adult literacy programs are an important means of breaking the cycle.

Accordingly, the Federation feels it is crucial for the Department of Education to concern itself not only with children of school-age, but with preschool children and families. We recommend the official mandate of the Department be extended to include education at all times of life.

Once children reach school, any problems must be dealt with regardless of the cause. We refer you to Dr. Canning's report "Special Matters". We feel the recommendations in this report address the issues in this area and were they carried out the literacy levels in the province would improve. We caution that implementing portions of the report without regard to the "whole picture" may do more harm than good.

Roles and Responsibilities

Cooperation between government departments to minimize the effects of social issues such as poverty is important. We recommend that the current efforts to coordinate services between departments be continued and expanded.

Though government should provide either seed or sustaining funding (depending on the program), community organizations who already have a rapport with those in need of service are better placed to administer programs. However government has a crucial role in the promotion of literacy and acting as a clearinghouse, both to coordinate programs and to share resources. Whether or not government should develop resources would be determined by the community. Many literacy resources already exist -- it may be more productive to provide access to current resources than to expend efforts developing new and perhaps duplicate resources. Government should also be proactive in identifying areas of need and approaching existing organizations or facilitating the formation of new organizations to deliver programs. Certainly where government is providing funding, it should monitor quality and effectiveness to ensure accountability.

All citizens have a role to play in this area. Regional Economic Development Boards might coordinate programs within their regions. School Boards, colleges and other institutions might make buildings and resources available for use for preschool or adult literacy programs. Volunteers might help deliver programs. Employers have a responsibility to provide training in basic literacy as they often do in computer literacy.

As the Literacy Development Council of Newfoundland and Labrador is an established organization whose mandate is literacy development, it would seem the logical body to coordinate literacy efforts in the province (provided it has or is given sufficient resources to do a thorough job). It would be important for the Council to work closely and communicate with other groups such as the Federation of School Councils, Regional Economic Development Boards, School Boards, community groups etc. Government promotion of literacy would be important to ensure that everyone approached the Literacy Development Council to register their programs whether or not they were government funded.

Curriculum and Materials

We do not have enough information to address these questions. It is difficult to approach our members at this time of year as schools and school councils have been gearing down for several weeks. Many of the questions posed are ones that we would like to see answered by an agency such as the Literacy Development Councils. By acting as a clearinghouse, perhaps we could find out if there are curriculum and materials appropriate to family literacy, to adult literacy needs etc.

The question of the appropriateness of curriculum content and the availability of materials in the K-12 system is a large one which would need further study. The Federation would be interested in being involved in this process to the extent of our resources.

Program Delivery and Access

At present our education system does not provide the necessary supports for children with reading difficulties in the primary grades and even with the release of "Special Matters" the Department of Education is missing an entire group of children who are having difficulty with reading. The Department of Education bases the number of Special Education teachers for each board on medical needs not on education needs, thus the child who fits into a category or "label" can access special services. The child who is not "labelled" ADDHA, mentally handicapped, physically handicapped etc. but is still struggling with reading does not receive the remedial services necessary because few schools have remedial specialists.

The government has just announced $250,000 for remedial pilot projects. These projects will be only offered in select schools. The money is not allocated for hiring more teachers across the boards to allow for a more equitable remedial program in the province. The government has not put forth funds so that classroom teachers may be in-serviced in remedial reading.

Presently most school boards do not investigate a child's reading difficulty until grade three. It is then rather late to put the support systems in place for that child.

With regards to supports, the key here is that all primary teachers be trained in the delivery of reading programs above and beyond the training that is presently being delivered in our university.

Should a classroom teacher find herself with a class which is not meeting the curriculum outcomes, provisions should be made by the Board to support that teacher and those students with extra help, not by having those children experiencing difficulty taken out of the classroom but by having a qualified person come into the classroom to assist the classroom teacher. There are already programs such as "Reading Readiness" being used successfully by a small number of schools.

As the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of School Councils, our mandate is the K-12 system, although we do recognize that many of the problems experienced in later life can be traced back to an inadequate start in reading and literacy in general. With the proper strategies put in place in early intervention we would hopefully see a decrease in need for Adult Basic Education.

Having said that, ABE programs are a reality in our society and as such must be approached in such a way as to maximize the learning of the participants. When working with adults, either in ABE or workplace education, the one main factor would be lifestyle. People coming back to ABE programs and those trying to improve themselves at work are returning in most cases with added responsibilities, family commitments, employment etc. These extra pressures on a person's time need to be factored in when providing a program.

When working with a population with low literacy skills we are also working with negative attitudes towards professionals. The professionals are at times perceived as telling us that we are wrong or what we are doing is not right.

Well trained volunteers don't have to have a professional background, they can be your neighbour down the street. Such volunteers create a comfort zone for the participants and learning becomes easier without the labels.

To foster cooperation among program providers and learners, an organization such as the Literacy Development Council should be a data clearing centre. Groups with a project in mind could approach the organization to access funding sources and to find out what projects are being done or have been done.

Professional Development and Support

At present the professional development and support for literacy programs inside and outside the K-12 system is poor.

Teachers and Early Childhood Educators should have literacy as part of their formal education program. Boards and the government need to be more diligent in their assignment of resources and teachers in the area of literacy. Most of all accountability must be built in. We are graduating students who cannot read or write at a level which allows them to succeed at post-secondary institutions and in the workplace. How is that happening?

In professional development for teachers we are caught in a "catch 22" situation: most in-servicing is provided during school hours which means in many cases the students are losing instructional time. Teachers are not provided with incentives to take part in summer institutes or after hour workshops. To alleviate this barrier some sort of compensation should be given to providers and teachers to help them with their professional development. By having a Master's program in Literacy/Adult Education in the province, you remove many of the barriers.

We want to be careful in using technology to enhance or deliver literacy programs. Teachers and providers must be comfortable and competent in the use of the technology.

Evaluation/Assessment/Accountability

Again we do not have enough information to address the myriad of complex issues mentioned in this section. However, we emphasize two things: accountability is extremely important; assessing children at school entry is too late.

Family/Community Context

Early literacy intervention should be designed to bridge the transition between family/community and school-based literacy. At home and in the community our literacy is verbal whereas in schools the literacy is mostly print related.

In order to bridge that gap, schools must become more open to the preschool age child. The school library could become the community library, not only housing books for the K-12 student and curriculum related books but also providing books for pre-schoolers and adults. Schools are already the location used for sporting events and youth groups. Why can they not become family resource centres, centres for inter- generational activities etc.? The answer is obvious, space and finances. However as schools become more open to the community, partners can be sought to overcome these barriers.

In order to improve family early literacy, parents need to be educated in the importance of having their child prepared for school and the skills the child will need to accomplish this. Parents not only need to know the skills required but how to help their child acquire these skills.

While high quality pre-school programs have been shown to improve a child's success at school, we must be careful in making pre-school more accessible. Literacy in many day care/pre-schools is sporadic, depending on the interest of the staff. Before putting money into such programs, accountability must be built in.

Teachers and providers must stress that literacy is not only the domain of the school but that parents, grandparents etc. play an important role in their child's development. Parents need to be kept up to date on what's going on in the schools and given the tools to help.

Funding

• 1. No one agency can totally fund a project and if government gives all the funding the program becomes a government project not a community-based program. The mandate becomes set by the government, not the stakeholders.
• 2. A combinations of sources should be the funding for literacy initiatives.
• 6. Funding activities that support the school in literacy education come in two categories: in-school and extra-curricular. In-school is a government and board-based initiative. This is where teachers are provided with extra help in the classroom, more teachers and resources in the school. These are the programs which meet the curriculum outcomes. Extra-curricular programs such as pre-school/school readiness etc. are programs which will support the school yet do not have to meet the curriculum outcomes. Parent and volunteers deliver such programs with the financial assistance from the government and the community.
• 7. Parents of young children should receive the emphasis for funding as an investment for the future in order to attempt to break the cycle of illiteracy.