Two-Year Update Right to Read Inquiry Report

 

Contents

Message from the Chief Commissioner

Introduction

Right to Read Status Report

Benchmark 1: Curriculum and Instruction

Benchmark 2: Universal Screening

Benchmark 3: Reading Interventions

Benchmark 4: Accommodations

Benchmark 5: Professional Assessments

Conclusion

Appendix

 

 

Chief Commissioner’s Message

Two years ago, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC or “Commission”) released the Right to Read Inquiry Report. Since that time, significant strides have been taken, with many more underway. As I reflect on this progress, I extend heartfelt gratitude to the International Dyslexia Association (IDA), Dyslexia Canada, Decoding Dyslexia, and the Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario for their collaboration. And I am grateful to the Ministry of Education for their responsiveness to the Inquiry's recommendations, demonstrating a commitment to positive change. The dedication of partners and stakeholders has been instrumental in advancing our collective mission.

The Commission extends its sincere commendation to educators, recognizing them as powerful exemplars of lifelong learning. Educators have demonstrated remarkable creativity and dedication in expanding their knowledge base and supporting their peers in navigating this transformative journey.

Finally, thank you to the OHRC’s team for their dedicated efforts in conducting the Right to Read Inquiry, shedding light on crucial issues.

While acknowledging these achievements, I am mindful that Ontario stands at the threshold of a marathon — one that spans a lifetime and holds the potential to shape the futures of generations to come. The commitment of the provincial government (“Province” or “Ontario”), school boards, educators, teachers' unions, the Ontario College of Teachers, and faculties of education is paramount in ensuring that every student realizes their fundamental right to read.

A fundamental cultural shift within the education landscape is essential to realize the objectives of the Inquiry Report.

So, as we commemorate the second anniversary of the Inquiry Report, the OHRC encourages all stakeholders within the education ecosystem to transcend silos, prioritize students’ welfare, and forge a unified path towards enduring systemic change. Together, let us reaffirm our commitment to nurturing an educational environment where every learner can thrive.
 

Patricia DeGuire
Cheif Commissioner,
Ontario Human Rights Commission 
 

Introduction

The OHRC launched the Right to Read Inquiry in October 2019 (Inquiry or Inquiry Report), building on previous work on accessible education. Notably, in 2012, the OHRC intervened in a case called Moore v British Columbia (Education) and in 2018 established a Policy on Accessible Education for Students with Disabilities.

The Inquiry investigated the human rights issues facing students with reading disabilities in Ontario’s public education system.

The focus was on the roles of the Ministry of Education, the Ontario College of Teachers, school boards, and faculties of education in ensuring every student’s right to read. The OHRC engaged with more than 1,400 students, parents, and guardians, and collected over 1,700 surveys from educators. The primary focus was on English-language boards and faculties. However, the OHRC also recognized challenges within French-language education. The OHRC worked with two experts in reading development and disabilities, Dr. Linda Siegel and Dr. Jamie Metsala, to analyze substantial data from eight English-language public school boards, all 13 Ontario English-language public faculties of education, and the Ministry of Education.

The OHRC found that the Province was systematically failing to meet its obligation to ensure that all students have access to the instruction and support they need to learn to read. Equity-deserving students, including those with dyslexia and other disabilities, students from lower-income backgrounds, Black and other racialized students, First Nations, Métis and Inuit students and multilingual students are disproportionately affected.

On February 28, 2022, the OHRC released the Right to Read Inquiry Report. The inquiry called for critical changes to the Province’s approach to teaching early reading. It set out 157 interconnected recommendations on how education sector partners can respond to meet the right to read. This  Inquiry Report has inspired other jurisdictions across Canada to re-examine their approaches to teaching reading, and human rights commissions in Manitoba and Saskatchewan to launch similar initiatives.

“The Right to Read has given us much-needed guidance and clarity.”
M. Griese, Moosonee District School Area Board

The Province responded enthusiastically and quickly to the Right to Read, pledging to work with the OHRC and education partners to implement the recommendations. Many school boards embraced the Inquiry Report and began updating practices, yielding a range of notable progress. 

Educators have been creative and are working tirelessly to further their learning and in supporting their colleagues to facilitate the transition. They have displayed courage and commitment to upholding human rights. Their dedication and enthusiasm have been osmotic. In the scheme of implementing the recommendations their work is vital. The Commission commends them for their work and for being powerful, positive role models embodying the spirit of personal growth, lifelong learning, and collective responsibility – values we aspire to instill in our children.

“The Right to Read report served not only as our guiding document but also as a catalyst for positive change within our educational landscape.”

– A. Humber, Greater Essex County District School Board

Two years into this landmark initiative, some essential changes have been made and many more are underway. We should celebrate this progress. Yet, we are mindful that we are just at the beginning of a marathon, one that spans a lifetime and potentially impacts our children for generations. The Province, school boards and educators, along with teachers’ unions, the Ontario College of Teachers and faculties of education share responsibility and play a vital role in ensuring our children realize the right to read.

We recognize that we still have much work to do.

Only with a foundational, cultural change within education will Ontarians fully achieve the goals of the Right to Read. As we mark the anniversary of the Inquiry Report, we call on all players in the education system to come together and break down the silos that remain, put students first, and create a comprehensive plan for lasting, systemic change.

“We have seen firsthand the effects of not learning to read and how that can impact a community. We acknowledge and honour the seven generations that came before us, and we do the work for the seven generations to come.”

– C. Shawana, Lloyd S. King Elementary School on the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation

_{Back to Top}

Right to Read Status Report

The OHRC uses five primary benchmarks as key indicators to provide an update on the status of the Right to Read Inquiry Report. These benchmarks serve as essential metrics for assessing the progress and impact of the report's recommendations over the two-year period.

Status of recommendations

Benchmark 1: Curriculum and Instruction

The OHRC found that the previous Ontario Language Curriculum was based on a “balanced literacy” approach that downplayed the importance of word-level decoding and spelling. The primary method used to teach students how to read words was three-cueing, an approach aligned with the whole language philosophy that assumes children will “discover” how to read through exposure to spoken and written language with little need for explicit instruction.

Cueing systems and balanced literacy approaches are not effective in teaching a significant proportion of students to read words and may be most harmful to students who are at risk. Students most at risk for reading failure, including students with reading disabilities and other students who are protected under the Ontario Human Rights Code (Code) will not develop critical early reading skills when such approaches are used in schools.

When the curriculum does not meet the required standard, it has a ripple effect on students’ outcomes and the education system. A substandard curriculum leads to ineffective classroom instruction, which creates a need for intervention that no system can meet. As a result, schools are forced to choose which students will receive intervention and which will not. When schools are unable to provide effective instruction, some families may be able to fill in the gap at home or pay for private tutoring. In this way, a deficient curriculum can perpetuate and deepen existing intergenerational cycles of privilege and disadvantage. 

Curriculum: Significant Progress

The Ministry partnered with the OHRC throughout the Inquiry process. As soon as the OHRC released the Inquiry Report, the Minister of Education announced that Ontario would revise the Grade 1 to 9 Language and Français Curriculum and instructional guides to reflect the recommendations provided in the Report.

In May 2022, Ontario released a new instructional guide for teachers, Effective early reading instruction: a guide for teachers and removed the previous instructional guide from the Ministry’s website. The new guide offers a high-level overview of many elements of evidence-based structured literacy instruction, including systematic and explicit teaching of phonemic awareness and phonics. This guide also introduced several key terms and concepts, such as the need for a planned scope and sequence in teaching.

“Since I've integrated a science-based approach to reading into my teaching, I feel much more confident, and I can see the positive impact on my students. For example, one of my students… has overcome his decoding difficulties… His self-confidence is growing, and he's blossoming not only as a reader but also as an author.”

– S-I. Moore, École Des Sentiers, Le Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario

When the guide was released, the Ministry urged school boards to use it to prepare for the change in curriculum. Many school boards proactively did so, providing professional development sessions to their teachers and piloting new programs and resources throughout the 2022–23 school year. Some such initiatives included the "Right to Read Book club", which is still ongoing.

The Ministry made significant revisions to the Grade 1 to 8: Language and Français and Grade 9 English and Français curriculum (including the expectations) in line with the Right to Read recommendations. The emphasis of the Grade 1 to 8: Language and Français and Grade 9 English and Français curriculum is that foundational language and literacy knowledge and skills need to be taught through evidence-based systematic and explicit instruction, often referred to as structured literacy.

The Grade 1 to 8: Language and Français and Grade 9 English and Français curriculum was released in June 2023 and implemented in September 2023. Despite the tight time frame, the OHRC commends the Ministry, school boards, and educators for rising to the challenge and acting with a keen sense of urgency.

“In my 27 years of teaching, never have I come across something that has so fundamentally changed my way of teaching as with the best practices presented in the Science of Reading… The changes that I have seen implementing a systematic phonics program are undeniably impressive.”

– S. Young, Perth Avenue Junior PS, Toronto District School Board

In January 2024, the Ministry announced that a revised Kindergarten Program will be implemented in September 2025. While this is a positive step, the OHRC recognizes that in September 2024, approximately 120,000 children will enter Kindergarten without the assurance of being taught foundational reading skills. The new curriculum does include developmentally - appropriate expectations for Kindergarten, however, at this juncture, instruction in these skills is not mandatory. The Ministry still has time to change this and make such instruction compulsory for the 2024/25 school year while it works on a complete revision of the Kindergarten Program.

Next Steps: French Immersion

The OHRC is mindful that the French Immersion Program needs to be updated. Over 200,000 students are enrolled in elementary French Immersion programs in the province. They have the right to learn to read with foundational skills instruction and. teachers want to provide this instruction. Although the Ministry has encouraged school boards to apply the evidence-based systematic and explicit instruction described in the Effective early reading instruction: a guide for teachers in French Immersion programs, teachers must follow the French as a Second Language (FSL) curriculum, which still references teaching cueing strategies and does not provide specific standards for essential early literacy skills.

This has led to inequity across the province between students in French Immersion and English/Français programs. In some instances, this has led to streaming out of French Immersion. As a result, these children are denied the benefits of bilingualism, which can help them succeed in life and work.

The OHRC recommends strongly that Ontario creates a new, cohesive FSL curriculum which aligns with evidence-based instructional approaches around reading and literacy instruction in the Grade 1 to 8: Language and Français and Grade 9 English and Français curriculum documents.

The Inquiry found that Ontario’s English faculties of education (faculties) have not been promoting evidence-based practices​. Instead, they have been promoting socio-cultural and inquiry-based approaches while rejecting evidence that these approaches are minimally ineffective.

​I​t​ is vital that pre-service and current teachers learn ​about how skilled reading ​develops. They should learn about the importance of ​strong early word-reading skills for future reading fluency and reading comprehension. Teachers ​should be equipped with the knowledge needed to teach phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding and word-reading efficiency. ​As well, instructing them in the use of early screening ​​techniques to identify at-risk students and evidence-based interventions is essential.

“For decades, Ontario has neglected evidence-based intervention for struggling readers. Now, the tide is turning. It is rewarding to be part of this reform.”

– P. Klein, Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Western Ontario

The faculties need to prepare educators to identify and teach students who are at risk for reading difficulties. Failing to prepare educators contradicts their strongly proclaimed emphasis on social justice, equity, and teacher empowerment, and undermines their goal of ensuring that they can meet the needs of a diverse student population.

Teacher Education: In Progress

​The Ministry, educators, and numerous educational partners have responded positively to the Inquiry. For example, the Ministry, the Ontario College of Teachers and faculties of education formed a working group in 2022 to address the recommendations pertaining to reading instruction, assessment and intervention and the content of additional qualification courses. The Ontario Association of Deans of Education confirmed their commitment to the ongoing improvement of teacher education and the language curriculum, including the systemic issues that affect the right to read and made a commitment to update their foundational courses based on the revised Grades 1-8 Language curriculum that was released in June 2023.  

​Presently, there remain many new and experienced teacher candidates who are not equipped to apply the Science of Reading in their instruction nor are they aware of the Right to Read Inquiry recommendations. There is still more work to be done.

Teacher candidates are hungry for this knowledge, resources and support and are actively searching for it. The International Dyslexia Association Ontario (IDA Ontario) offers free access to its Basics of Decoding and Spelling Instruction course for teacher candidates. Since spring 2022, over 700 teacher candidates have participated in this online course. They are excited and grateful for the information they are receiving through ​IDA Ontario.

The accreditation of teacher education programs falls under the Ontario College of Teachers Act and the Ontario College of Teachers has the authority and responsibility to ensure that initial teacher education programs meet current and future accreditation standards. The government has implemented legislative amendments to the Ontario College of Teachers Act through the Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, passed in June 2023, to reinforce the expectation that a teacher education program must enable students to acquire knowledge of the Ontario curriculum, particularly in relation to math, reading, and literacy, and any other element prescribed by regulations. The Ministry is working with the Ontario College of Teachers and faculties of education on potential changes to the core content of initial teacher education. However, it has not passed detailed regulations specifying the knowledge and skills future teachers must attain to teach foundational word-reading skills.

Professional Development: In Progress

The Ministry of Education has continued its long-standing partnership with the Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario (LDAO) to provide information to educators through the website LD at School. The OHRC welcomes LDAO’s contribution to creating and sharing several new helpful Science of Reading resources.

Another impactful initiative worth noting is the Ontario literacy project called ONlit. This initiative is a partnership between the Ministry, Dyslexia Canada, and IDA Ontario to develop resources and provide virtual learning opportunities for educators. The aim of this initiative is to build internal capacity in school boards by providing professional development to board literacy leadership teams and developing training materials these teams can use to provide job-embedded professional development to classroom educators. This initiative is an excellent opportunity to invest in the future of literacy education in Ontario.

To align effectively with the Inquiry's recommendations, teachers ​​need sustained job-embedded professional development and resources to transition their practices.  

Many boards have been working to provide professional development, however, barriers such as the shortage of supply teachers and funding limitations are outside the control of the board. 

High-quality resources and materials have been developed by several school boards for educators to use, and the OHRC is buoyed by the number of school boards which have taken the initiative to share freely the resources they have developed. This commitment to province-wide collaboration and equity is heartening.​  

It is disappointing that many boards still lack a strategic plan to implement the necessary changes and build capacity within their systems two years after the Inquiry Report. The OHRC is concerned by reports from teachers that they must continue to undergo additional professional development on practices that the Inquiry found should be replaced. These teachers are eager to engage in new learning. Further, given the difficulty of providing release time to teachers, it is not a beneficial use of time to offer ineffective professional development. 

Another barrier that persists in some boards is the attitudes and priorities of leadership. While many education directors and superintendents have embraced the findings and recommendations of the Inquiry and have worked to build their knowledge, others must still prioritize understanding the Report, the new curriculum, and evidence-based policies and practices. This gap may risk their abilities to lead their boards effectively through this complex transition.

Additional Qualification Courses: Little to No Progress

The ​O​HRC provided detailed recommendations outlining the necessary changes to the​ Additional Qualification (AQ) courses for teachers. ​In January 2023, the Ontario College of Teachers made an internal update to the Reading Additional Qualification programs course guidelines with a full revision of this additional qualification program currently underway. It is anticipated that the Ontario College of Teachers will publicly post a draft of the new course guidelines this summer for public feedback. The Special Education AQ course guidelines, which are used to create the additional qualification courses, have not yet been updated to align with the OHRC recommendations.

Since additional qualification programs must be reaccredited on a regular review cycle, which is generally every 3-5 years, we hope to see more progress in this area soon.

The Accreditation of Teacher Education Programs regulation requires that additional qualification providers be committed to continuous improvement and quality assurance of their existing programs and have implemented measures demonstrating that commitment. It is promising to see that Trent University takes this commitment seriously. ​The OHRC recognizes and appreciates the significance of the changes Trent has made to align its courses with the new curriculum and the Inquiry recommendations. Trent has shown that with a keen sense of urgency, AQ courses can be changed rapidly.

The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) is another organization that has made significant and commendable contributions to in-service teacher education. ETFO has provided its members with many opportunities for learning and sharing knowledge related to the Inquiry and structured literacy during its Summer Institutes, Federation Days and ongoing resource development. ​The OHRC app​lauds ETFO's continued efforts to advance equity by empowering its members to implement the recommendations of the Right to Read Inquiry. 

_{Back to Top}

Benchmark 2: Universal Screening

The primary goal of universal screening and progress monitoring is to drive effective instruction and intervention. The Inquiry found that Ontario’s approach to early screening was not consistent, evidence-based, or effective at identifying students at risk for reading difficulties. The Inquiry found Ontario’s approach was ad-hoc and generally, did not rely on evidence-based reading assessments. These ineffective policies and practices resulted in many students not being identified as at risk and therefore, not provided with intervention during the critical window for reading development. 

Because of this ineffective approach to screening, many students struggle with preventable reading difficulties, which erodes their self-esteem and confidence. In many school boards, ineffective screening policies have resulted in students not being identified until Grade 3 or later. These students require intense intervention provided over a longer period to catch up with their peers. These delays in identification have caused a crisis in special education and a high degree of conflict between parents and schools.

The research on screening for early reading skills is advanced, and the financial investment required is minimal. However, the negative impact of current practices on students is harmful. 

Universal Screening: In Progress

In the Fall of 2022, the Province announced that screening would become mandatory for Kindergarten to Grade 2 students in September 2023. The Ministry engaged the services of Ontario Education Cooperative Marketplace (OECM) to vet screening tools and create a list of approved tools from which school boards would have to select. Ontario announced that $12.5 million of targeted funding would be provided for school boards to buy tools from the approved list and train educators.

In August  2023, the Ministry released Policy and Procedure Memorandum 168, Reading Instruction and Early Reading Screening (PPM 168). This new policy requires boards to screen all children in Kindergarten Year 2 to Grade 2 once per year, with a second screening necessary for students identified as being at risk during the first screening.

While PPM 168 is a significant improvement over past practices, it does not fully meet the OHRC’s recommendations to screen all students at least twice yearly. PPM 168 mandates that all students be screened at the beginning of the school year, but only students who do not meet the benchmark must be screened a second time in the middle of the year. Many evidence-based screeners, including three on the Ministry-approved list, provide materials for three screening windows at the beginning, middle and end of the school year.

It is important to recognize that meeting a screening benchmark is far from a guarantee of future success; educators benefit from multiple screenings to better understand student needs and judge students’ responses to instruction.

At the time of the release of PPM 168, the ​Province and unions were negotiating a new collective agreement. ETFO and the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association filed a complaint with the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) as they contended that screening was a topic being discussed in the bargaining process and posed a threat to teachers’ professional judgement. Before the OLRB​ heard​ the complaint, the unions and the Province agreed to delay the implementation of PPM 168 until September 2024.

The Ministry updated the elementary report card, adding a section for educators to show if a student has been screened and share the results with parents. However, numerous school boards, including those with successful screening programs, have advised educators to keep this section blank during the 2023/2024 school year, even if a child has been screened. This directive unfairly keeps crucial information from parents about their child’s potential reading issues and may delay prompt intervention.

Arguments against universal screening and mandatory reporting often claim that these requirements threaten professional judgement. However, professionalism is rooted in values such as responsibility, transparency, and accountability, which are integral to various professions like medicine, law, and engineering.

The Ontario College of Teachers sets up Standards of Practice emphasizing commitment to students and their learning, professional knowledge, professional practice, leadership, and ongoing learning. Opposition to province-wide screening seems inconsistent with those standards and can limit student achievement. Any effort to withhold information from parents or make screening optional can undermine the purpose of universal screening and jeopardize public perception and trust in the teaching profession.

Despite the challenges, many school boards have implemented the screening recommendations, but because the provincial policy does not come into effect until September 2024, progress towards using screening data to provide intervention earlier is mixed.

In school boards that have started universal screening, data are used to identify students at risk for reading difficulties and guide instruction and intervention. Many teachers who have started using the new screening tools have commented about the usefulness of the information these tools provide. As well, many teachers and school boards are going beyond the mandated screening for students up to Grade 2 and are also using it in higher grades. This is because Ontario’s earlier failure to use evidence-based screening tools has left many older students with unidentified foundational skills gaps. These boards and educators are now working to fix past oversight and prove their belief in every child's potential for success.

“At the first grapheme-phoneme screening in October, my students knew on average half the names and sounds of letters. A few months later, at the second screening, most of my students knew almost all the  names and sounds of letters. What a great tool that allows me to see my students’ progress.”

Grade 1 Teacher, CEPEO

Because the previous Language Curriculum was inadequate, it is common for teachers using evidence-based screening tools to discover that more than half of their class does not meet benchmarks. These teachers are using the screening data to plan and implement whole-class interventions and more intense interventions for the most vulnerable students.

Many teachers are keen to learn more about screening, implement it in their classrooms, and use the resulting data to inform instruction. Educators across Ontario are participating in a collaborative book study of Next STEPS in Literacy Instruction: Connecting Assessments to Effective Instruction through ONlit, and some schools are using pre-created book study materials from ONlit to build capacity in translating screening data to effective instruction. It is clear, however, that addressing this need requires province-wide efforts and large-scale capacity building, not only for educators but also for principals, board leaders, and Ministry staff.

Boards have used different training approaches where screening has been implemented. For example, the Near North District School Board trained all educators during professional development days in August 2023, before the start of the school year. Peterborough, Victoria, Northumberland and Clarington Catholic School Board used a combination of professional development days and release time to train all educators in the Fall of 2023. Niagara Catholic District School Board paid educators to attend mandatory training after school.

Some school boards have trained board-level teams and sent them into schools to conduct the screening. Sometimes, these board-level teams travel in pairs so that one team member can step in and teach the class, allowing the classroom teacher to observe the student screening process and receive job-embedded training.

Next Steps: Making Data-based Decisions

Screening and data collection are crucial within a broader systemic strategy aimed at enhancing equity outcomes. Screening data not only serve to identify individual students at risk but also to provide valuable indicators of the health of an overall system. As Ontario moves toward province-wide screening, systems at all levels need to learn more about data-based decision-taking in preparation for data collection and analysis. Collaborative problem-solving is a structured process teams should use to:

1. understand the needs of students and systems,
2. develop a plan to address needs, and
3. evaluate the effectiveness of the plan, adjusting, as necessary.

Screening data at a student level should inform the support ​to be set up for an individual child, either by a classroom educator or other professionals. Educators can use class-wide screening data to understand broader trends in their students' needs and the effectiveness of their class-wide instruction. If a substantial proportion of students in a class are at risk, the focus should be primarily on strengthening general classroom Tier 1 instruction.

Screening data at a system level has more significant implications. This data should inform system staffing, scheduling, resource allocation, and professional development priorities. All stakeholders in a system play a key role in using screening data to drive improved outcomes: board consultants, superintendents, directors, and Ministry staff need to prioritize actively building an understanding of not just the administration of evidence-based screening tools but also how this data should be used to drive system improvement and innovation.

PPM 168 indicates that: "School boards are expected to develop and implement a process for regular data collection and monitoring of student screening, using a robust and secure data collection and recording system."

The Right to Read Inquiry found a need for more consistency across the province. This remains a concern, as more than 72 school boards are individually developing and implementing data collection and recording processes. The​ Province should have a central repository of data in a consistent format so that it can be analyzed at the school board level and used to identify boards in need of support or intervention.

_{Back to Top}

Benchmark 3: Reading Interventions

The primary complaint of the families who initially approached the OHRC was that their children were not receiving effective reading intervention at school. For many, no intervention was provided, while many others received interventions that were not evidence-based or effective. For those lucky enough to receive high-quality, evidence-based intervention, it was often too little, too late.

The OHRC found that Ontario boards do not have a consistent system to measure students' progress or response to an intervention. During the inquiry, numerous personal accounts were heard of students placed in special education programs, often for years, where little or no objective data was captured to understand if these programs were effectively addressing the students' needs.

Boards that attempted progress monitoring often used ineffective tools (such as levelled reading assessments) or relied only on the measures built into a reading program to gauge student progress. While many of these program-specific measures assess if the student is progressing in mastering the skill or skills addressed within that program, they do not objectively assess whether the intervention has resulted in a generalized gain in the student's reading ability. Boards must become more effective at measuring the success of intervention programs at both the student and system levels. 

The Inquiry found that Ontario's approach to reading interventions must be revised to prevent students from failing to learn foundational word-reading skills. Unless this happens, our education system will have failed these students.

“The impact of our early initiatives has been very positive. We have witnessed increased confidence and proficiency in reading and writing skills, empowering students to unlock their full potential and succeed academically.” 

S. Krause, Near North School District

Stop using ineffective programs: The OHRC recommends that school boards immediately stop using reading interventions that do not include these components or do not have a strong evidence base for students who struggle with word reading, students at risk for or identified or diagnosed with reading disabilities or dyslexia. School boards must use only interventions from the Ministry's list.

Make access to interventions equitable: To increase and standardize access, the OHRC recommends school boards ensure every school has at least one evidence-based Tier 2 and Tier 3 (more intensive than Tier 2) reading intervention for students in each grade who need them. This will require additional stable, enveloped yearly funding and implementation support from the Ministry and adequate professional development and support to make sure there are knowledgeable and skilled educators who can deliver these interventions.

Provide intervention to all students who need it: The OHRC recommends removing inappropriate eligibility criteria for interventions, such as requiring a learning disability diagnosis or the student not having a coexisting disability. Instead, the Ministry should collaborate with an external expert(s) to develop consistent research-informed student selection criteria for interventions based on standardized reading test results. To ensure equitable access, ANY student who meets the criteria should receive interventions.

Implement effective progress monitoring: The OHRC recommends making improvements to monitoring individual student progress and the overall effectiveness of intervention approaches.

“From the very first screening, we were able to identify students requiring reading assistance and set up small intensive reading groups twice a week. Since the screenings enabled us to find out what the students didn’t know, we created targeted intervention plans... After a 6-week block, learning is measured and we’re delighted with the results."

ALF-Affiliated Teacher, CEPEO

Reading Interventions: In Progress

Informed by the OHRC and the Ministry’s dialogue, in 2020-21 the Ministry provided $11.76 million to support evidence-based reading intervention programs and $20 million for re-engaging students and providing early reading assessment supports.

In March 2022, the Ministry announced $25 million to support evidence-based reading intervention programs and professional assessments, beginning immediately and continuing into the 2022-23 school year.

In its 2023 Budget, Ontario announced investments over the next two years, including $25 million to support students in Kindergarten Year 2 (formerly known as Senior Kindergarten) to Grade 2. Also, the Ministry has funded the development of a French-language reading program.

In its 2024-25 budget, the ministry provided $12.5M continued funding to enable school boards to purchase licences, resources and professional learning to support the provision of systematic, evidence-based tiered reading programs and interventions for struggling readers, including but not limited to students with reading disabilities.

The new Grade 1 to 8: Language and Français and Grade 9 English and Français curricula were designed to improve early reading instruction and reduce the need for intervention. Many school boards have been providing training and support for teachers to implement the new curriculum. However, it is equally necessary to extend professional learning opportunities to administrators to ensure successful implementation and support for educators.

PPM 168 formalizes the requirement that boards use a tiered approach to reading instruction and data from screening to inform instruction and interventions for Kindergarten to Grade 2 students. Ontario has yet to enact any new policies that would require school boards to use consistent, evidence-based selection criteria for students in grades 3 and above.

Although many school boards have been able to enhance reading instruction and intervention for younger students, providing effective interventions to older students who have struggled with the previous curriculum and intervention methods continues to be a major challenge for most boards. Nevertheless, some school boards have adopted innovative approaches to meet the needs of older students who require Tier 2 and 3 interventions.

“We need to address the challenges faced by dyslexic students, particularly in high school… the absence of sufficient support mechanisms leaves families to seek external resources independently to address literacy skill deficiencies.”

– M. Mercer, Parent, Toronto Catholic District School Board

School boards now have access to practical progress monitoring tools for assessing response to intervention in Kindergarten through high school students. The Province has selected universal screeners with efficient and integrated progress monitoring tools. However, currently, there is no policy or guidance directing boards to use these tools for progress monitoring, and as a result, very few boards are using them effectively.

The current provincial efforts to improve access to evidence-based intervention programs attempts to limit school boards’ ability to purchase new intervention programs to those on a list provided by the Province. The list aims to ensure consistency across the Province and the criteria for programs align with the updated curricula and the OHRC’s recommendations. Boards are “strongly encouraged” to use the programs and interventions listed. The Ministry allows for the possibility of using funds provided by the Ministry to select other programs that teach foundational reading skills and use systematic and explicit instructional strategies. However, school boards can continue using existing ineffective programs, or use funding from other budget areas to purchase new intervention programs that are not evidence-based.

​Many school boards, such as the York Region District School Board, stopped using ineffective programs immediately following the release of the Inquiry Report. However, some boards continue to use ineffective programs and legacy resources, and a few have continued to invest new money into such programs. For example, in October 2023, staff at one school board provided the following update to trustees: "In response to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, Right to Read Inquiry Report, the […] District School Board responded in multiple ways. One response included selecting a Levelled Literacy Intervention (LLI) program." However, the inquiry had found LLI, Reading Recovery®, and some board-developed approaches to be ineffective and insufficient, based on the body of research on effective early interventions and the boards' outcome data on early reading.

Next Steps: Mandate Evidence-Based Interventions

The Ministry should create a new policy and procedure memorandum to address the recommendations for intervention and progress monitoring for students in Grades 3 and up. This policy should set out the following requirements:

• Select evidence-based intervention programs.
• Determine which students receive intervention using objective criteria.
• Monitor progress at minimum specified intervals, using the measures contained within the approved screening tool, for all students receiving intervention or who have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) that includes modifications or accommodations to address challenges with literacy.
• Set expectations for communication of progress monitoring data with parents and caregivers.
• Centrally collect progress monitoring data to inform decisions at the school, board and provincial level.

_{Back to Top}

Benchmark 4: Accommodations

The Inquiry found that accommodations such as assistive technology were often provided in lieu of instructional interventions in Ontario. Modifications were frequently used to permanently lower expectations for students, and applied without a clear plan to ensure students catch up. Also, the Inquiry found​ that when accommodations are required, they are often not timely, consistently applied, or supported in the classroom.

Accommodations: Little to No Progress

More evidence of systematic changes to transparency and accountability related to accommodations and modifications needs to be provided. Faculties of education are required to prepare teacher candidates with knowledge and understanding of the current Ontario curriculum and provincial policy documents that are relevant to the student’s areas of study and curriculum, including planning and design, special education, and assessment and evaluation. Teacher candidates need opportunities to apply this content in their practice teaching assignments, so they are ready to support students when they get their own classrooms. Even though it is the AQ program providers’ responsibility to ensure that all their AQ programs are current by regularly updating materials to include the most up to date resources available, including the relevant current curriculum and/or policy documents, the Ontario College of Teachers still needs to update the standards for the Special Education Additional Qualification courses.

Currently, the IEP guidelines do not mention using evidence-based screeners to plan effective interventions or progress monitoring to measure the effectiveness of interventions and accommodations. IEPs are critically important because they help the student achieve the learning expectations identified.

The Ministry has not yet revised the IEP guidelines to incorporate recent literacy assessment and intervention changes for struggling readers and writers, although recent literacy assessment should be considered under relevant assessment data.

Ministry guidance emphasizes accommodations and modifications at the expense of interventions; the word "intervention" does not appear. Evidence-based practices are not mentioned, while long-debunked approaches such as “learning styles” remain.

Next Steps

A new policy and procedure memorandum should be created to outline requirements for clear communication with parents regarding the use of accommodations and modifications and how these are being implemented alongside intervention. The Ontario College of Teachers should update the course outlines for the Special Education AQ courses and better monitor and regulate the delivery of these courses.

It is time to reimagine the IEP as a tool for effectively supporting growth and learning for all students. IEPs should contain the complete student assessment data history (including reading screening and progress monitoring data) and the interventions and accommodations provided. This level of documentation ensures that all educators, parents, and guardians can have a clear understanding of the child's needs, the supports that have been provided, and the effectiveness of those supports.

_{Back to Top}

Benchmark 5: Professional Assessments

Professional assessments should not be required for interventions and accommodations, and all students waiting to be assessed should receive effective support. Yet, in practice, professional assessments help secure these supports. Because of long wait times for board assessments, parents who can afford to pay get private assessments. This creates a “two-tiered system” in a public education system that should be equitable for all students.

The ​O​HRC found that, most often, students had already been struggling for years by the time they received a professional assessment. Moreover, they found instances where professional assessments were used as gatekeeping measures to restrict access to interventions and accommodations.

Boards did not have appropriate objective criteria to determine which students would receive professional assessments. The OHRC warned that “bias can play a role when referrals are not based on transparent and objective guidelines.” (cite quote)

Further, the ​O​HRC raised concerns about PPM 8, the provincial policy memorandum that outlines the definition of learning disability. It noted that this policy is out of step with the latest research and principles for diagnosing word-reading disabilities outlined in the DSM-5. The ​OHRC found that assessments for suspected reading disabilities do not always need a battery of intelligence and cognitive processing tests. Instead, assessments for a learning disability/dyslexia should include a thorough assessment of reading and spelling skills, a review of the interventions provided and progress monitoring data to measure the student's response to interventions.

Universal early screening will identify students who need early intervention. When a student is not responding to evidence-based intervention, a referral for a professional assessment may be appropriate. Referrals can happen following intensive intervention provided in Grade 1 or Grade 2. While awaiting an assessment, schools should intensify intervention for the student. 

Next Steps

The Province should update PPM 8 to align the definition of learning disabilities with the DSM-5 and the recommendations of the Inquiry. This or other new policies should formalize the Response to Intervention model of assessment for learning disabilities, outline when professional assessments should happen, and how assessments should be used.

Systemic Issues

The inquiry identified the need for more standardization, data collection, effective communication, and transparency as critical systemic issues in Ontario and found that these issues and barriers require a systemic response.

“We have a lot of students who enter school at risk, yet with a Structured Literacy approach, we were able to reach more learners than even the schools with the most affluent populations in the district.”

- K. Lockhart, Rideau PS, Limestone District School Board

Ontario students deserve consistent, standardized approaches and universal access to the same level and quality of services and supports regardless of the school or school board they attend, and whether the language of instruction is English or French.

“We have come together as a board to learn about the foundational literacy skills, broken down the steps for quality assessment practices, and were given the resources needed to begin our shift in instruction right away. Now, classroom to classroom, school to school, all students are able to receive similar explicit instruction…” 

- L. Nelan, Monck PS, Trillium Lakelands District School Board

The BSSOA has the potential to improve the education system. When it comes to meeting students’ right to read, Ontario needs consistency and stability. This means clear, mandatory standards related to curriculum and instruction, early screening, reading interventions, accommodations, and professional assessments. It requires central ongoing monitoring and better accountability within the education system. And, importantly, it needs stable, enveloped, yearly funding.

_{Back to Top}

Conclusion

The progress made in implementing the Right to Read Inquiry Report recommendations over the past two years is a significant milestone. However, we must remember that there is a child in every Ontario public school classroom struggling to learn to read. Fostering a lifelong sense of personal empowerment through literacy is vital, as learning to read builds self-confidence and contributes to physical, emotional, and mental well-being.

Achieving the ambitious goals in the Inquiry Report requires collaborative efforts from many partners to implement system-wide changes. The Ministry of Education, boards of education and teacher’s colleges must address these challenges immediately. The OHRC encourages all duty-holders, including communities, stakeholders, and parents to advocate for essential changes. The OHRC calls on every partner within Ontario's public education system to fulfil their responsibilities and legal obligations under the Ontario Human Rights Code by dismantling barriers which obstruct students' opportunities for learning and growth. The impact of these initiatives will resonate across generations and shape Ontario’s educational landscape for generations. 

“I am so happy and optimistic for the changes taking place in Ontario. I truly believe that this will make an incredible difference in the lives of students, families, and our communities. Our kids deserve this change.”

– L. Mason, Parent, Renfrew County District School Board

_{Back to Top}

Appendix

Trailblazer: Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board

David DeSantis, Director of Education, Algonquin and Lakeshore C.D.S.B.

Even before the Inquiry was launched, some leading districts and many educators had already begun to critically examine their approach to literacy instruction and worked to align their practices with the science of reading.

In 2018, our multidisciplinary team started to have conversations around the gaps that they were seeing in primary classrooms and beyond in terms of overall literacy skills. Clinical staff were seeing very clear patterns in psychoeducational assessments that were not due to an increase in exceptionalities, but rather deficits in phonological and phonemic awareness and phonics that could have been addressed in classrooms long before students were formally assessed.           

This led to deep conversations about restructuring Tier 1 instruction, assessments, and special education supports in schools for all primary students. Our team recognized this was an equity issue that could only be addressed with a system plan that laid out a systematic plan to build educator and leader capacity, starting with the patterns we were seeing and building on the learning from year to year. 

Virtual staff training started during the pandemic, which was obviously less than ideal. However, the moral imperative driving the work was that kids could not wait. We went into staff training not knowing what the response might be, yet we were met with enthusiasm and relief. Staff felt validated that we were highlighting the concerns that they were seeing in their classrooms but didn’t yet have the skills or tools to address. 

At the end of 2020, formal Science of Reading goals were included in our Multi-Year Strategic Plan (MYSP), to ensure that all schools were aligned in our commitment to this work. The MYSP and School Improvement Plans for Student Achievement & Well-Being (SIPSAWs) also became leaner at this time to decrease competing priorities. This allowed schools to create focused goals and provide adequate support and monitoring to achieve them.

In the end, we see our work at the ALCDSB with respect to the Science of Reading as an integral part of our mission statement, where each member is loved, inspired and successful.

Lakehead Public Schools Commit to OHRC Right to Read Recommendations

Whitney Lundstrom, Educator

Lakehead Public Schools shares the OHRC’s commitment to improving Literacy practices for every student. Since early 2021, Lakehead Public Schools have used professional learning opportunities to educate their teaching staff on the recommendations made in the Right to Read Report. Lakehead Public Schools led discussions and professional development sessions to identify, and plan to remove the barriers such as cueing systems and balanced literacy practices to align with the recommendations made in the Right to Read Report.

During professional learning opportunities offered to elementary French Immersion teachers and staff, we explored the Science of Reading as well as the 6 components of effective literacy instruction. Using resources such as: Pratique Phonémique, Alphagraphe, I can read in French and decodable texts to deliver explicit, systematic, and direct instruction to whole class, small groups and individual students.

Lakehead Public Schools recognizes the importance in identifying students' needs in early Literacy. Teachers completed IDAPEL training and implemented screeners in their classes. The data from those screeners has been used to plan and implement interventions with a focus on early reading strategies.

Lakehead Public Schools continues to grow, refine our teaching practices, and welcome new learning opportunities to offer the most equitable and accessible Literacy instruction to support all students.

Trillium Lakelands District School Board Improves Reading Instruction - For ALL

Lindsey Sheldrake, Literacy Consultant and Melanie Blackburn, Early Years Consultant

Our commitment to student achievement is the reason TLDSB took a proactive approach to the OHRC report. In April 2022, TLDSB Director Wes Hahn brought together educators from across the board to form a “Literacy Advisory Panel” to discuss reports and get educator input on effective next steps. Following the panel discussion, Superintendent Jay MacJanet and his Curriculum Team created a 3-year strategic plan to improve literacy instruction, with the first year of the plan to be in place by September 2022. Strategic moves initiated in Year 1 have had a significant, positive impact on student achievement in reading during the 2022-23 school year:

• Professional development and other resources provided to all Kindergarten and Grade 1 educators on foundational literacy skills and how to teach them 
• Reading tutors employed to support students in Grades K-8
• Classroom resources provided to help teachers use new concepts proficiently
• New decodable texts purchased so students can apply phonics and phonological awareness as they learn to read
• Provided a curriculum coach in each school to help implement shifts in literacy instruction
• Provided tools for assessment of the foundational skills
• Engaged in a pilot project to evaluate screening tools

Lindsay Nelan, a Kindergarten teacher at Monck Public School, began implementing the shifts for teaching reading instruction immediately. “We have come together as a board to learn about the foundational literacy skills, broken down the steps for quality assessment practices, and were given the resources needed to begin our shift in instruction right away. Now, classroom to classroom, school to school, all students are able to receive similar explicit instruction which provides continuity for when students move up in grades, or even if they move schools.”

For Year 2, TLDSB moved forward with Early Reading Screening (ERS) and invested in training the curriculum team as mentors to ensure effective and sustainable system implementation. Since September 2023, Coaches and Consultants have been directly supporting educators and engaging them in professional development through in-school PLC’s, which have focused on effectively collecting, analyzing and responding to screener reading data. To date, every K-3 educator in our 41 Elementary schools have now been trained in Acadience and are using it as an effective measure in their classroom practices. The curriculum team continues to work alongside educators daily in their assigned schools to support implementation of the new curriculum through co-planning, teaching, and facilitating learning opportunities at staff meetings, PD Days, and lunch-and-learn sessions. 

These are exciting times to be in education and we are proud of how the TLDSB learning community has risen and grown as a learning organization to support learning for ALL.

Greater Essex County District School Board’s Transformative Literacy Journey

Angeline Humber, Teacher Consultant - FSL

The GECDSB recognized the need to create an equitable, inclusive, and accessible literacy learning experience for our students in all programs. Using the Right to Read Inquiry report and recommendations as our guide, the GECDSB literacy team enacted an ambitious, but necessary, implementation plan with an initial focus on K-3 reading instruction. We knew that successfully implementing this plan required empowering and building the capacity of our educators. 

Our literacy team, composed of Special Education and Program Department team members, was able to draw on the expertise of the individuals within the team, and we sought opportunities to work with organizations and experts from outside our school district to develop and deepen our own knowledge and bridge the gaps between research and practice. Understanding that each school community had unique strengths and understandings in relation to structured literacy, we worked within small, school-based teams to determine each school’s level of proficiency and tailored learning to their needs.

Having long recognized the importance of universal early screening, we began Acadience Reading and IDAPEL implementation training in 2019. Our central office team, Learning Support and English as a Second Language teachers have been implementing these screening tools and gathering data to inform decisions. We are now working to expand screening capacity by providing training to all Kindergarten to Grade 2 educators.

We also critically examined the literacy resources that were in use in our schools. A gap analysis allowed the team to determine which resources were outdated, did not align with current research around reading, or had no connection to current Ontario curriculum documents. The team sourced and purchased new resources for our classrooms, giving us a more contemporary and diverse library of resources that not only reflect the various identities of children in our system, but also align with the evidence-based approach to assessing and teaching reading. We identified a need for a research-based diagnostic assessment for French Immersion, and with the financial support of the Ministry of Education, we were able to assemble an interdisciplinary team of specialized members from across Canada to develop a new diagnostic assessment tool.

We are proud of our work around effective Tier 1 instruction in the K-3 classroom. The Right to Read report served not only as our guiding document but also as a catalyst for positive change within our educational landscape. We continue to work collaboratively to empower educators and their students in our continued efforts to address the recommendations of the Right to Read report. 

Waterloo Region District School Board Initiates Job-Embedded Professional Development 

Ines Bijl, Educator

The WRDSB takes great pride in the work we are doing to implement a structured literacy approach to teaching reading throughout the system. This journey began in the summer of 2021, preceding the publication of the Right to Read Report. Since then, we have gained valuable insights and made numerous adjustments that have significantly supported administrators and educators and ultimately impacted students.

One significant change at the WRDSB is the introduction of the half-time Reading Resource Teacher (RRT) role. The RRTs are school-based educators who play a crucial role in assisting colleagues with implementing explicit and systematic instruction in phonemic awareness and phonics. RRTs offer timely, recursive, and focused support to classroom educators, enhancing effective Tier 1 instruction. They have been instrumental in piloting the new board-wide literacy initiatives, including UFLI and Acadience. A key part of their role has been the effective execution of progress monitoring and responding to data through small-group instruction in classrooms. 

RRTs and trained educators are opening their classrooms to educators from schools that have not yet had the opportunity to receive training, allowing them to engage in collaborative efforts with their peers who are actively applying a structured literacy approach. 

We are immensely proud of every educator at WRDSB for their ongoing efforts in implementing structured literacy in their classrooms and for their dedication to assisting every student on their path to becoming proficient and literate learners!

Greater Essex County District School Board Develops and Shares Classroom Resources

The new Language Conventions Continuum (Appendix B3) details components of syntax, sentence structure, grammar, capitalization and punctuation that should be taught explicitly and systematically. Explicit instruction in these aspects of language was not included in the 2006 Language Curriculum. For many teachers, explicitly teaching the intricacies of language is entirely new.

Seeing a need for resources to support educators in implementing these new expectations, Greater Essex Speech Language Pathologist Melinda Hinch sourced and adapted open-source lesson plans from the Syntax Project. Melinda adapted these Australian resources for Ontario and mapped the lessons onto the new curriculum. In addition to providing these excellent resources to their own educators, Greater Essex has provided a wonderful gift to educators across the province by posting them on ONlit.org.

First Nations School’s Inspirational Response to the Right to Read

Catherine Shawana, K-8 Curriculum Lead Teacher, Lloyd S. King Elementary on the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation

As a K-8 Curriculum Lead Teacher and a First Nations educator working in a federally funded, band-operated First Nation school, responding to the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s Right to Read Report was an act of responsibility to uphold the Standards of Practice for the Teaching Profession. Inspired by the profound research and knowledge of those before me, a vision to change literacy instruction began to form. When the Right to Read Report was released, it became blatantly evident that Code-protected groups sustained the greatest achievement gap. The systemic challenges at first seemed too large to address. We had to ask ourselves what could we do as educators committed to students and student learning?

We delved deep into learning about the Science of Reading in the Spring of 2020. We identified that building our knowledge, capacity, and understanding of the research was our first step. Our professional development journey began with watching videos, listening to various podcasts, participating in webinars, and building a professional library of the most recent publications. The International Dyslexia Association of Ontario had a wealth of information to help develop this capacity. We attended the Literacy and Learning Conference and participated in Top Ten Tools and the Basics of Decoding and Spelling Instruction training. At this point, we were ready to implement our new learning and became serious about the shift.

Our shift from a balanced to a structured literacy approach began by implementing core components. Once we adopted a scope and sequence, we could build on from there. It wasn’t much longer before we were researching universal screeners, and in the fall of 2023, we decided to screen ALL our students from K-8. We knew the screener would provide us with the data to validate our Tier 1 instruction needs. This naturally led to building a Multi-Tiered System of Support. I am proud to say that through our collaboration and dedication, we are beginning to see results in smiling faces confident in their foundational literacy skills, and we are closing the gap!

Lloyd S. King Elementary's response to the Ontario Human Rights Commission's Right to Read Report was filled with passion and responsibility. We have seen firsthand the effects of not learning to read and how that can impact a community. We acknowledge and honour the seven generations that came before us, and we do the work for the seven generations to come.

Near North District School Board’s Structured Literacy Journey 

Stephen Krause, K-12 Student Achievement and Well-Being Principal

As a K-12 Student Achievement and Well-Being Principal, with literacy central to my portfolio, I've had the privilege of being part of the Near North District School Board’s response to the Ontario Human Rights Commission's Right to Read Report. 

Since the Spring of 2020, our team has been committed to embedding a structured literacy approach into our system-wide literacy programming. When the Right to Read Report was released in February 2022, we were able to align our learning and work to date with its recommendations and use the report to bring awareness and clarity to all the stakeholders in our district regarding the system work that lay ahead. 

Our journey began with providing our educators with professional learning led by our Lead Speech Pathologist, Kara Macie. This initiative aimed not only to educate but to empower educators with the tools and strategies necessary to foster literacy development effectively. This was a critical awakening for many of our educators and administrators regarding shifts in the way we understood and needed to deliver literacy instruction to our students. It also encouraged our Board to dive deeply into literacy learning and to bring expertise to our educators through connection with a network of experts in the field.

Through considerable effort, support, and collaboration, we have achieved many significant milestones in our literacy initiatives. One of our largest accomplishments was the early adoption of Acadience Reading, as a screening assessment for all our students, K-8. We are now in Year 2 of a system-wide voluntary implementation by our literacy educators. This Fall, we have collected Beginning-of-Year Benchmark data for over 80% of all our elementary students and over 90% of our K-2 students. This data allows us to quickly and accurately identify students who are struggling with their reading and helps us to make informed decisions at the student, classroom, school and system levels. 

The impact of our early initiatives has been very positive. We have witnessed increased confidence and proficiency in reading and writing skills, empowering students to unlock their full potential and succeed academically. In the coming months and years, we are committed to building upon our successes and refining our strategies to meet the evolving needs of our diverse student population.

Near North’s response to the Ontario Human Rights Commission's Right to Read Report has been a journey of dedication, collaboration, and unwavering commitment to the success of every student in our district. While challenges lie ahead, and we recognize that our work is far from over, we are confident in our ability to drive meaningful change and create a future where every student has the opportunity to thrive through literacy. Together, we will continue to build a brighter tomorrow for the next generation.

Northeastern Catholic District School Board’s Screening Reveals Positive Effects of Structured Literacy Approach

Daphne Brumwell, Superintendent of Education

When the Right to Read Inquiry Report came out, we immediately took action. A committee was formed and tasked to review the recommendations, engage in learning about structured literacy and develop a plan for implementation.

All primary & junior classes shifted from a balanced literacy to a structured literacy approach that focuses on explicit instruction in phonological awareness & phonics in the fall of 2022. In the fall of 2023, we added explicit handwriting, spelling, grammar and vocabulary instruction for our junior/intermediate divisions.

Crucial to this work was the implementation of reading screening for all FDK to Gr. 8 students. A board team has been using Aimsweb+ three times a year since the fall of 2022 to identify students who are at risk. For the first time in more than a decade, we have a full set of data for every student. Though progress has been slow, we are celebrating two achievements:

• In the fall of 2022, our screening data showed that 43% of our Year Two Kindergarten students were at risk. In the fall of 2023, we were delighted to see a drop in the number of our students in Year Two who were at risk to 31%. In our second year of implementation, we hope to further reduce this number.
• During the 2022-2023 school year, screening data showed that 87% of our Grade 1 students were at risk in September. With changes to classroom instruction, this number had fallen to 74% by June.

These data have been instrumental in planning tiered interventions for our students. The support provided by our classroom educators, resource teachers and leads are so much more targeted and specific to student needs. We can’t wait to see the impact of our ongoing work! We are so very grateful to our dedicated team of educators who have embraced our vision and who are learning more every day about how to provide exceptional literacy learning opportunities for every NCDSB student. 

Renfrew County District School Board Screening and Intervention Foster Student Growth

Jordan Sloan, Bilingual Literacy Coach, Petawawa, Deep River & Madawaska Valley

Before the release of the report on the Right to Read, the Bilingual Literacy Coaches in the Renfrew County District School Board, a small but geographically expansive board in Eastern Ontario, began learning about structured literacy. With the release of the report and the recommendations around screening, the decision was made to begin our work, to determine how we could provide structured support around the development of literacy. 

Six Literacy Intervention and Support Teachers (LISTs), took on the task of screening all our students from year 2 Kindergarten through Grade 2. The screening process provided information that was used to determine how we could best support the system. The LISTs provide intervention support in six-week sessions in schools throughout the county, and the Literacy Coaches simultaneously work with teachers to implement structured literacy practices at the Tier 1 level. 

This year brought about less funding, therefore only three LISTs, however, we have done so much work implementing learning around structured literacy with our teachers and bringing UFLI into our classrooms, that we are building that capacity throughout the board. We are hearing stories of success from teachers and seeing measured growth in our students. We are continuing growth with the implementation of Literacy Partners in each of our schools and look forward to expanding our training around screening, assessment, and evaluation.

Limestone District School Board’s “Grand Plan” for Literacy

Erika Chesnick, Educator

In the Fall of 2022, my boss, Associate Superintendent Stephanie Sartor, and I sat down to make a plan for where we wanted Limestone to go with literacy. We'd both read the R2R report front to back and recognized where Limestone could do better as a system in supporting our students. Our 5-year plan (since dubbed 'The Grand Plan') started to take shape, and in Year 1, there were several things we wanted to implement with passion and fidelity.

One aspect of the “Grand Plan” was building capacity with system leaders. It was early in our conversations that Stephanie and I agreed that we needed to ensure that the people steering the ship, so to speak, knew where we were going. Enter the Literacy Learning in Limestone professional development series. Throughout the school year, we held 7 sessions of learning for our elementary principals, and 4 sessions for our elementary vice-principals. These sessions included learning about structured literacy, universal screening, and school leadership related to implementation and change management. 

Administrators listened to podcasts, dug into screening data, participated in various lessons (including UFLI, Word Connections, and Morpheme Magic), read chapters from Speech to Print, and read articles about a variety of literacy topics. As anyone who works in an Ontario school today can tell you - it is not easy to leave the building that you've been charged with overseeing for any period of time, but our administrators attended sessions with enthusiasm, dedication, and a collective passion and desire to do better for our students. 

We have watched these leaders take this learning and use it to guide their buildings forward. From working alongside educators to collect universal screening data, to running school-wide book clubs, ensuring that morning announcements include moments for explicit vocabulary instruction, or running their own small literacy intervention groups - we see leaders across the system guiding the ship in the right direction.

Upper Canada District School Board Provides Intensive Support to Build Secondary Student Confidence and Success

The Director of Education for UCDSB has prioritized addressing the OHRC report's recommendations. He surveyed all school sites to determine the nature of reading supports and instructional materials available. From there, screening measures were administered widely across many grade levels. There was an alarmingly high number of non-readers and significant delays, especially for students in Grades 6 and up. 

An action plan was designed that involved a multidisciplinary approach and a third-party partnership with LearnStyle to provide immediate intensive Tier 3 reading intervention to older students, while also working to build capacity in the board by training educators in the SRA Corrective Reading program.

In the first phase of the program, LearnStyle coaches provided daily one-on-one intervention to students via Zoom. In the second phase of implementation, UCDSB is committed to training at least one SERT in every elementary school to deliver the Corrective Reading program. In addition, high school students in locally developed English courses will receive Corrective Reading based on their screening results. 

Real Results:

Student (“N”) was not a confident reader. In Grade 9, he screened into the Corrective Reading program at about a Gr 4 level. He was disengaged from school and refused to attend most classes. N agreed to try the virtual reading program with the 1:1 coach. The sessions were conducted in the Guidance office as this was the only location where he felt comfortable completing any work. On the first day, upon finishing the lesson, N ‘skipped’ down the hall to inform the principal that this program was really helpful. He felt successful. Day by day, his confidence increased. He rarely attended his other classes, but he participated fully in Corrective Reading lessons on a daily basis. When it was time for a Summative assessment in his Grade 9 English course wrote about what Reading Intervention meant to him. The following is an excerpt of his work:

"... I wanted to write about my reading program because it is important to me. I never attended classes because I felt embarrassed - (and I thought) the teachers gave me easy work or thought I was dumb. Learning reading in this program helped me see my progress every day and I began to feel more confident. I knew I was smart. There was a whole team of staff supporting me, so I found the courage to read in front of my Gr 9 English teacher. I can now read stories with many paragraphs. I know how to read and spell many words now. Learning to read makes me feel very happy. I am proud of what I can do now."  

- N. Grade 9 Student, Upper Canada District School Board

Western's Faculty of Education Replaces and Expands Literacy Courseto Address the Right to Read

Perry Klein, Professor, Faculty of Education

In September 2024, the Faculty of Education at Western University will launch a revised Bachelor of Education program. To support the Right to Read, we have added a 36-hour course titled Adaptive Instruction in Literacy, which will be required for all Primary-Junior teaching candidates. The course will equip them with the knowledge and hands-on skills they need to teach students with dyslexia and other exceptionalities, as well as typically developing students. This is critically important because previous research has shown that most teacher candidates lack essential knowledge about initial literacy development and evidence-based teaching methods. 

Adaptive Instruction in Literacy will replace our current 18-hour course on Supporting Struggling Readers and Writers. This year, I worked along with other instructors to update this course to address the Right to Read and the new Ontario Language curriculum. Students begin by learning about the Interactive Dynamic Literacy Model, including the key roles that phonemic awareness, letter knowledge, and phonics knowledge play in early literacy. As the course progresses, students learn about complex grapheme-phoneme correspondences, morphology, discourse knowledge, and self-regulation. They use this knowledge of development to understand dyslexia and other exceptionalities that affect reading and writing, and to understand curriculum expectations, assessment, and intervention. 

The new Adaptive Instruction in Literacy course will allow teacher candidates to learn more about teaching elementary students of various skill levels. We are also adding classes on explicit direct instruction; sentence writing and grammar; reading and writing in various genres; and research methods for literacy intervention. 

For decades, Ontario has neglected evidence-based intervention for struggling readers. Now, the tide is turning. It is rewarding to be part of this reform.

Parent Perspective: Secondary Students Need Targeted Intervention<

Melissa Mercer, Parent, Toronto Catholic DSB

“We need to address the challenges faced by dyslexic students, particularly in high school. My son is a Grade 11 student enrolled in the academic stream at the TCDSB and has demonstrated his ability to succeed with the aid of accessibility tools, yet he encounters difficulty passing the OSSLT literacy test. Constructive feedback regarding areas of weakness and targeted guidance for improvement are essential to fostering his academic success. Currently, students, families, and educators only receive the final pass or fail score; there is no comprehensive recommendation on specific areas requiring attention for achievement. There is a pressing need for heightened school intervention to adequately prepare students with learning disabilities for the literacy assessment. Unfortunately, as students progress through high school, the absence of sufficient support mechanisms leaves families to seek external resources independently to address literacy skill deficiencies.”

Parent Grateful for Move to Structured Literacy 

Lorie Mason, Parent, Renfrew County District School Board

“I am so excited and relieved that my youngest (age 6) is learning to read through a structured literacy approach, using UFLI. I know that this will set him up for success and provide him with such a deeper understanding of the English language. I watched my middle son (age 16) struggle all throughout his elementary school years. His teachers did their best, but nothing seemed to work for him or make sense to him. His struggles with literacy have not only made school hard, but also impacted his mental health. It was hard for him to see himself in a positive light when his peers seemed to be grasping and understanding reading and writing, but he was left unsure and guessing. He is in a good place now, but those skills are still a struggle for him and require him to work so hard just to come close to what his peers seem to do with ease. As challenging as that has been, I am so happy and optimistic for the changes taking place in Ontario. I truly believe that this will make an incredible difference in the lives of students, families, and our communities. Our kids deserve this change.”

Teacher Perspective on Grassroots Initiative to Adopt Structured Literacy

Kim Lockhart, Teacher, Limestone District School Board

“My school, Rideau Public, was an early adopter of structured literacy. We dove into this learning enthusiastically in 2020, knowing that our students could not wait for direction from above. Because we started before training or support was being provided by the school board, we had to do this on our own time and often with our own money. We organized book clubs, journal clubs, podcast clubs, and lunch & learns, even meeting in each other's backyards while social distancing in 2020 to keep our learning going strong! 

In Spring 2022, our school scored significantly higher on the Grade 3 EQAO, with 83% of students meeting the reading expectations and 68% meeting the writing expectations.
To put this into context, board-wide Grade 3 results were 59% in Reading and 47% in Writing. Our results are particularly significant when you consider that of the 61 schools in Limestone, Rideau Public is ranked fifth from the lowest in terms of average socio-economic status. We have a lot of students who enter school at risk, yet with a Structured Literacy approach, we were able to reach more learners than even the schools with the most affluent populations in the district.”

Northern Community Teacher Perspective

Marissa Griese, Moosonee District School Area Board

"Prior to the Right to Read, experts from the south would visit us and tell us to only have student-made materials on letters displayed in the classroom. These visiting experts advocated for the use of levelled readers with three cueing strategies. We knew that this wasn't working for our kids, since we saw an inability to read and write in our early primary students. Since they were seen as experts, there was tremendous pressure to follow their direction. 

The Right to Read has given us much-needed guidance and clarity. It confirmed what we could see clearly: our kids need systematic instruction and gave us much-needed permission to change our teaching approach. Over the past two years in our school, we have implemented daily phonics and phonemic awareness instruction, teaching with decodable books, teaching proper formation of letters and explicitly teaching the foundations of writing. With these changes to explicit, systematic instruction, we saw and continue to see tremendous growth in our Kindergarten to Grade 3 students."  

Educator Notes Skill and Confidence Boost in Young Readers

Sarah-Isobel Moore, École Des Sentiers, Le Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario

"In my classroom, I try to cultivate a passion for reading in my students by introducing them to a wide variety of books. It's really beautiful to see how students turn into passionate readers. Since I've integrated a science-based approach to reading into my teaching, I feel much more confident, and I can see the positive impact on my students. For example, one of my students, who was very self-conscious at the beginning of the year, has overcome his decoding difficulties. By integrating orthographic mapping activities, something clicked, and he now has a better understanding of the relationship between sounds and letters. He even took the initiative of practicing at home and teaching his little brother how to do it! His self-confidence is growing, and he's blossoming not only as a reader but also as an author. It's so encouraging to see him enthusiastically sharing his favourite book passages and confidently writing down his ideas and stories."

Teacher Reflections on Implementing Science of Reading Practices

Suzanne Young, Perth Avenue Junior Public School, Toronto District School Board

“In my 27 years of teaching, never have I come across something that has so fundamentally changed my way of teaching as with the best practices presented in the Science of Reading. For the last four years, I have been using Heggerty in my Grade 1 class and am in my second year of implementing UFLI. The changes that I have seen implementing a systematic phonics program are undeniably impressive. I am so humbled to have the opportunity to help build a solid foundation for my young readers and grateful that I feel equipped to do so.”

Teacher Perspectives: Tiered Intervention Facilitates Student Success

Kathryn Hayes-Waldhuber and Amanda Tolton, Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board

“As a learning resource team, we moved to implement a Multi-Tiered System of Supports, informed by screening data from Acadience. Flagging students who were at risk for potential reading failure and providing equitable access to Tier 2 and 3 interventions. Through ongoing progress monitoring, we are able to monitor the impact of our intervention to ensure students are making adequate gains with our instructional support.”  

Educator Experience: Screening and Rapid Student Progress 

Melissa Monette-Smith, York Region District School Board

When I screened my SK students using both Acadience and followed up with a letter-sound diagnostic, I noticed that while many of the 16 students had a decent grasp on their letter-sound relationships, they were at a loss of what to do with the letters in order to read words. Only 4 of 16 were reading at the word level. When retested three months later, after engaging in phonics and phonemic awareness routines and decodable text, 14 of 16 of the students were now reading at the word level, and 7 of 12 JKs were too!

CEPEO Teachers Note Student Progress Using Screeners and Intervention

Grade 1 Teacher

"I’m so proud of my Grade 1 readers. At the first grapheme-phoneme screening in October, my students knew on average half the names and sounds of letters. A few months later, at the second screening, most of my students knew almost all the names and sounds of letters. What a great tool that allows me to see my students’ progress. I can’t wait to start working on more complex graphemes!"

Grade 2 Teacher

A Grade 2 teacher notices a student reading during the greet and meet. He’s at his desk, reading aloud by choice. The teacher is speechless. This student normally doesn’t like reading, as he was having great difficulty. After the screening, he joined an intensive reading group. He made great progress, built up his confidence and now chooses to read for fun! At the beginning of the school year, his screening showed that he did not know 31 complex graphemes. In January, the second screening showed clear improvement. He went from missing 31 complex graphemes to 22 complex graphemes. What a great achievement!

ALF-affiliated teacher

"The screening tools and structured literacy instruction from educational consultants have helped me a lot so far. From the very first screening, we were able to identify students requiring reading assistance and set up small intensive reading groups twice a week. Since the screenings enabled us to find out what the students didn’t know, we created targeted intervention plans where we targeted graphemes to work on and worked on segmentation and fusion activities. After a 6-week block, learning is measured, and we’re delighted with the results."

Resource Teacher

"Intensive reading support in small groups provides a safe place for students to take risks. Student participation and collaboration are positive. Progress is tangible and evident in screening results. Students gain confidence in reading, mastering the code, and this boosts their self-esteem as readers."

ALF-affiliated teacher

"Two years ago, I had a third grader who couldn’t read. The impact of his struggles was evident in his behavior. Two years later, he is now in Grade 5 and is targeted for our intensive reading support blocks. In his first screening, we learn that he has 27 complex graphemes to master. During the support blocks, he does the work, gets involved in the activities and is often surprised when he learns something. The smile on his face when he learns his progress during the second screening session is worth all our efforts. He only has 16 complex graphemes to learn. This confirms the positive impact of the interventions put in place to help him. Much to the surprise of his homeroom teacher, this student is even attempting to read a novel!"

_{Back to Top}