'There's huge urgency and no holding back'
When Gabrielle Letele began at her new school this year, her mother was worried. The shy 6-year-old was struggling to learn to read and it was affecting her confidence.
"I used to wonder all the time if she was okay, if she was in classes where teachers didn't pick up on kids that were quiet," Vaimaua Brown-Letele said. "I didn't want her to be behind."
The family decided to move Gabrielle to Hay Park primary, a decile one school in Mt Roskill. Gabrielle was assessed, the school swept into action, and just one term later counts reading as her favourite thing to do with mum and dad.
"We have seen such a dramatic positive change," Mrs Brown-Letele said. "She's much happier to go to school, and she's always got her reading bag out."
The rate of children meeting reading expectations at Hay Park is 30 per cent higher than the decile one average. It also has more than 50 per cent of its students in the highest achievement bracket despite arriving with very low literacy and numeracy levels, and varying experience with early childhood education.
(from NZ Herald Tuesday 3 May, 2016)
