Community reading events and intensive night school opportunities have helped one Vancouver high school achieve measurable success.
Dusanth Sivanantharasa, a Grade 12 student at John Oliver Secondary School said his reading struggles affected his emotions and he was “afraid of going to school”.
“I was really stressed out. It was really hard because I had people yelling at me, saying "Focus, focus!" I was crying sometimes,” he told CTV News.
Tim McGeer is the principal of John Oliver Secondary where many students come from immigrant families. He said that improving reading levels among children has powerful long-term implications.
“There's a direct connection between literacy and ambition, literacy and ability to dream a future,” McGeer said.
Community events such as The Wonder of Reading included dramatic and musical performances, interactive games and First Nations storytelling which resulted in tangible improvements at John Oliver Secondary. The English failure rate dropped from 16 per cent in 2005 to two per cent in 2013, while the graduation rate rose from 84 to 95 per cent.
Sivanantharasa’s father Ananth Rasamanacka said he noticed the difference in his son.
“He's reading books. Before, he never did. Now he does,” Rasamanacka said.“ He's changing his attitude. He's totally changed.”
Sivanantharasa’s said his outlook on life has been transformed and he has a new sense of confidence.
“Now, I can become anything I want,” Sivanantharasa said. “I can get a good job, live a happy life and support my family.”
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Mi-Jung Lee.
