WASIP to improve literacy levels

Challenging times are ahead for the WASIP working group consisting of Gay Turner, Pauline Cornwell, Heather Bell, Bruce Dale, Debby Waikato, Trevor Diamond and Stephanie Tawha.

With the beginning of the new school year, the collaboration of 13 West Auckland schools in the Waitakere Area Schooling Improvement Programme (WASIP) is set out to improve literacy levels among students.

The ministry-supported programme involves low decile primary and intermediate schools who have been given facilitators by the MoE, i.e. literacy development officers, to support WASIP.

Serious levels of underachievement in Reading – particularly amongst Maori and Pasifika students – have led Trevor Diamond, Henderson South principal and one of the WASIP developers, to collaborate with other principals.

“My passion is raising the level of literacy in our schools and our goal is that all WASIP students will progress to and sustain the expected level of achievement,” Mr Diamond says.

While WASIP is set out to raise teacher knowledge and use of effective practice, it will also encourage leaders to manage change and lead learning to raise student achievement.

Two other main areas will focus on improving families’ and whanau involvement in supporting students’ learning and the establishment of professional learning groups to improve practice.

The literacy development programme of WASIP has never been tested in other schools, but Trevor Diamond is optimistic that it will provoke “habits of change within classrooms”.

He says, “The programme has never been that focused. I am confident that our year-long planning will pay off and that WASIP will change our West Auckland classrooms for the better.”

The schools participating are: