TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Paligatto Elementary School (ES), like all other schools across the nation, has students who struggle with reading for a variety of reasons. Much time and resources are allocated with the aim of ensuring the students consistently meet grade-level expectations while addressing their social-emotional needs.
A standardized reading program using 10 levels is used in the schools division of the city to assess students’ reading progress at the conclusion of each quarter.
Level 1 (letter name knowledge), Level 2 (letter sound knowledge), Level 3 (blending CV, VC, CVC), Level 4 (short vowel sound), Level 5 (consonant cluster/diagraph), Level 6 (long vowel sound), Level 7 (words with silent letters), Level 8(slight words), Level 9 (vocabulary-picture-words-context clues), and Level 10 (reading comprehension).
Kindergarten pupils should pass levels 1 and 2, levels 1 to 4 for Grade 1 learners, levels 1 to 7 for grades 2 and 3, and levels 1 to 10 for grades 4 to 6 learners.
According to statistics from April 2023 provided by Ernesto Cabanes Jr., teacher-in-charge at Paligatto Elementary School, 26 of the 70 students in kindergarten through grade six were placed in a “focus group” after performing poorly on the reading level given to their grade level.
According to Cabanes, the school has developed various interventions to address the issue and aid students in improving their reading abilities. One of these remedies entails holding reading sessions after classes utilizing contextualized learning materials created by the teachers themselves. Monitoring the students’ progress and maintaining regular communication with the parents to remind them of their obligation to support their children’s reading and comprehension is another intervention.
With the help of all these interventions, he noted that the concerned students had improved significantly, particularly those in grades 1 to 2 who had previously learned letter name and letter sound, the cornerstones of reading.
Making all of the students better readers at the end of the school year is the major goal of utilizing all these tools.
According to Cabanes, some parents are unable to assist their children with reading because they lack literacy, while others lack the time since they have to work on their farms. Some students in grades 3 to 4 experience academic difficulties because they were homeschooled for two years when they were in kindergarten through to second grade due to the lockdown caused by the pandemic.
The next evaluation will decide if the students identified under the “focus group” should be excluded due to some learners’ difficulties with comprehension. Paligatto ES will keep putting beneficial strategies into practice going forward to help students who are struggling with their studies.
The BAGWIS (Basic Education in-Action in all levels of Governance and Sectors Working for Intuition and Success) event was held in the aforementioned school to show appreciation and support for Paligatto ES. Speakers included representatives from the Tabuk City Police Station, Tabuk City Fire Station, City Social Welfare and Development Office, the Schools Division of Tabuk City, and City Councilor Eduardo Sacayle, Chairman of the Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Education.
