Reading Recovery in Anguilla
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Reading Recovery is an early intervention programme designed to reduce reading and writing problems in schools. This programme which began in New Zealand in 1978 is now operating in many different education systems throughout the world: in Australia, Canada, USA and in the United Kingdom.

Anguilla will be the first country in the Caribbean to introduce Reading Recovery in all its primary schools. Ms Monica Harrigan has completed a years intensive training at the University of London as a Reading Recovery Tutor and she will begin training eight experienced Anguillian teachers who have been selected to deliver the programme in local schools. A Reading Recovery Centre has been set up at the Department of Education, for training purposes, and the programme will begin with an official opening on Wednesday 9 September.

Children entering the programme in each school are those in Grade 1 classrooms who have the most difficulty with reading and writing after one year at school. The programme is different for every child. The child's strengths are the starting point and the programme moves from these strengths towards what the child needs to do in order to become a reader and writer. During the individual, daily , thirty minute lesson the focus is on comprehending messages (in reading) and constructing messages (in writing), so highest priority is given to children reading many books and writing their own stories. They learn to attend to detail, without losing the focus on meaning.

The goal of the programme is to help children acquire efficient patterns of learning to enable them, by the end of their supplementary programme, to work at the average level of their classmates and to continue to progress satisfactorily on their own schools instructional programme.

Mrs Jean Prance, one of the Reading Recovery trainers from the University of London, is currently in Anguilla on the first of three visits to ensure that the programme is operated as designed and to ensure successful implementation with quality outcomes.

Guest article by Ross and Estelle Cashmore

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