READING PROGRAM

Reading is making meaning from print.  A child who knows how to read may gain knowledge from all the printed pages he came across with. The ability to read enables the child to learn the various concepts in the different subject areas. According to the California Task Force on Reading; Every Child a Reader “Reading is the most important academic skill and foundation for all academic learning. If our children cannot read, they are on the road to academic failure. Teaching children to read must be our highest priority.”

Teaching reading however has never been easy. While oral language seems to develop naturally for most children, reading does not (CSU Institute for Education Reform). A teacher needs to kindle a pupil’s motivation to read and to make sense for them to understand what they are reading. A teacher needs to understand also how pupils learn to read and must have in depth knowledge on different strategies in teaching reading.

Over the recent years, the Department of Education has seen a turn down in the reading abilities and test score of the learners in the National Achievement Elementary Test (NEAT) for the elementary level and the National Secondary Achievement Test (NSAT) for the secondary level. How can this major performance setback be averted? This became a growing concern among educators, stakeholders and parents.

The City Schools Division of Davao is really keen on doing something about this concern. It intends to improve the performance level of its learners.  It was determined that having a reading program in each school is essential. The Division Office then through the collaboration of the Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao (BEAM) project and the University of the Philippines developed a reading program (eReading) which empowers teachers, supervisors, and other stakeholders to improve pupils’ performance. A series of trainings for such ensued. As of the last two years, the implementation of the aforementioned is in full blast already.

The District of Talomo where the Davao City Special School belongs came up with a reading program called “The Young Reader.” The project adheres to the reading program of the Division which is to equip teachers with knowledge on various instructional strategies to be utilized in teaching reading.

The Davao City Special School has seen how vital it is to have a reading program in the school. Its learners as indicated in the recent Phil IRI result are readers but there are still those who could not comprehend very well. Thus, were not able to answer some of the questions appropriately. 

The goal of the Davao City Special School is to produce individuals who will become assets of a growing and progressing nation. The school believes that integration of reading skills in different subject areas would help in the realization of this goal. In order to achieve this, School Based Training Programs(SBTP) are being conducted every last Friday of the month to have a well equipped teaching force who can address the intricacies of literacy and teach all of the children to read well.

The school’s reading program was also implemented last July 30, 2010. It focus on the improvement of the comprehension and language fluency of its learners.