The issues of literacy and solutions to these issues are diverse. One of the important prerequisites for achieving total literacy is the continuous development of the quality of support provided to children with SEN or those, who have reading difficulties. So, within the framework of the Memorandum signed in February-May 2022, the “Help me read” pilot program was implemented with the joint efforts of the Republican Pedagogical-Psychological Center and the “NorArar” Educational NGO.
The aim of the program is to expand the opportunities for the development of the reading quality of children with SEN.
The program was carried out in two stages.
- ✦ In the first phase, training courses for specialists of the Republican Pedagogical-Psychological Center were conducted with fluency development and assessment strategies (February-March).
- ✦ Furthermore, training courses were held for the specialists of Vanadzor and Alaverdi TPPSCs, as well as for about sixty teachers, teacher’s assistants, psychologists, and special pedagogues from secondary school N 12 in Alaverdi, secondary school N 21 in Vanadzor and Lernapat secondary schools.
The list of students with SEN was updated with the support of specialists from schools and educational establishments, as a result of team discussions and observations, reading fluency and related needs were highlighted as well.
A profile of needs and strengths was created for each child, and an initial assessment method and toolkit were defined. Also, the scope of responsibility and participation of all parties involved has been clarified.
Additionally, the interventions used during the program were effective for about 80 percent of the students involved. Communicating regularly with the parents, the main purpose, course, and importance of the interventions were presented to them. However, the specialists of the TPPSCs, who were already took part in the training courses also provided directors and deputy directors of the schools involved in the program. So, monitorings were conducted to assess process accountability and performance.
The “Help me Read” pilot program is a component of ”NorArar”’s earlier reading campaign program, which was funded by the European Union and implemented by the “People in Need” Organization” within the program “Civil Society Actors as Drivers of Change in South Caucasus and Moldova”.
