OVER 60 students of Mona Heights Primary School, who were previously classified as reading at two grade levels below their age, were last week praised for moving up one level.

Their improvement became evident after participation in a slow learners’ reading/writing competition in which students were asked to work on different projects — including advertisements, comprehension tasks and letters — which they later used to create a portfolio.

At a function hosted by the school last week they were awarded in the categories of best portfolio, best writer, best overall reader, best speller and most improved. Grade one students Joshua Powell and Teasha Tulluch emerged as the top boy and girl and received trophies and gift bags.

Grade two teacher and conceptualiser of the competition Janet Dean told Career & Education that she was inspired to start the competition by her own son who has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

“Over the years, I have always wanted to teach slower children because these children are not really recognised,” she said, pointing out that children who underperform are often labelled ‘problem children’.

“And so we need somebody to help them, we need people to come on board, we need people to form a foundation for these children,” Dean appealed.

The 39-year-old graduate of Mico University College has been a teacher for over seven years and previously taught at-risk boys at the Young Women’s Christian Association of Jamaica. She is also a director at the Jamaica Reading Association and plans to pursue a degree specialisng in literacy skills at the University of the West Indies this academic year.

“The comprehension section is to help them to really understand what they are reading. This was done at a reading level,” she explained.

She said it also included a second stage where the students were given seated writing exams with compositions and comprehension tasks, which were judged by representatives from the Jamaica Library Service.

Participants are between the ages of five and eight.

The competition, introduced in 2009, is being offered to slow learners for the first time. Previously, it catered to students who could already read, and even included an essay and poster competition.

“Last year I thought of the other children who are struggling and then when we looked at the Grade Four Literacy Test results, we realised that there are problems in writing, comprehension and spelling,” Dean told Career & Education.

The competition was supported by corporate entities such as Sangster’s and Kingston book shops and Sagicor, as well as the political representatives of the area.

In spite of its success however, Dean expressed concern for next year’s staging as a result of what she described as a lack of resources.

“It is hard when there is a lack of resources and it is hard when you have all of them in a class of 35,” she said.

Dean said children with learning challenges need a place in the school that is dedicated to them and their interests where they can be taught on a one-on-one basis.

“Children with learning problems need hands-on help. If we are going to help these ones who we say are challenged readers, those children need more stimulation, more hands-on assistance,” she said.

“We need a reading room where these children can be pulled out, where these children can be helped and where we have resource materials where they can use them,” she added, highlighting the specific needs at Mona Heights.

Dean issued a word of advice to her colleagues: “Adopt a child and try to help that child; find out the child’s needs, be patient with the child and if you realise that the child needs added help, refer that child to the places for them to get that help.”

As part of its efforts to improve literacy, Mona Heights Primary will also be hosting a reading fair on May 17th, but has so far not received any sponsorship. Dean is calling for corporate entities to come on board and set up booths on the day.