Grade 9 Students Talk About Literacy and Education

Premier John Hamm and Education Minister Jamie Muir discussed literacy and the Active Readers program with Grade 9 students at Cornwallis Junior High School in Halifax today, Feb. 1.

Active Readers expanded into Grade 9 this year and of the 203 new books each class will receive, 50 were chosen by students themselves.

"Talking with students reinforces our conviction that the increased emphasis on literacy in our education system is paying off," said Premier Hamm. "These children are developing a genuine love of reading along with improved literacy skills, and that will help them through their careers in school, the workforce and in the rest of their lives."

Active Readers was launched in elementary schools in 2000. Since then, the program has reached 100,000 students in grades primary to eight. More than $8 million has been invested in professional development, teacher resources and more than a million new books.

With the expansion of Active Readers this year, schools across the province will receive an additional 87,000 books -- 203 new books for each class room.

"We're already starting to see the results of these investments," said Premier Hamm. "We know that the initiatives we've started through Learning for Life are creating a solid foundation. In the coming months, we'll be talking about building on these initiatives to help our students even more."

The Department of Education is preparing the next phase of its Learning for Life initiative, which it will discuss with teachers, school board members, parents and other education partners later this month. "Our new offshore agreement with Ottawa will help us provide new educational opportunities for young Nova Scotians," added Premier Hamm.

Students at Cornwallis Junior High School said the time they spend in school developing their reading skills is paying off. "We have many opportunities to read on a daily basis," said Holly Winter, a student. "We have a reading period at the beginning of most classes and small group reading and it's helped students get to know about and like books they may not have read otherwise."

"It's great that we have such a wide variety of books to choose from," said fellow student Robin Gillis. "We can choose books we like and relate to because there are a lot of resources available to us."

The students also commented on the Student Choice Collection. "It's great to have students involved in choosing the books we read," said Emily Court. "They know our interests, likes and dislikes. And we're happy to get more books in our class."

Active Readers is one of the many literacy initiatives supported by the Department of Education. Just last week, Mr. Hamm and Mr. Muir announced that nine literacy organizations across the province would receive grants totalling $100,000 to help parents play a more active role in their children's learning.