Guildford Park Secondary 24-25
OUR CONTEXT
OUR LEARNERS
AT GP, we have a beautifully diverse student population. Approximately 25% of our student population are ELL, 19% are students with diverse abilities, and 1077 of our 1412 students speak another language other than English at home. In fact, there are 70+ different languages spoken at home among our student population. As such, focusing on literacy skills will be very important for our learners as they prepare for adulthood.
Literacy serves as the foundation for cognitive development, educational achievement, and effective communication. Literacy allows individuals to access and interpret information and build critical thinking and problem-solving skills. It plays a central role in career opportunities, as most jobs require strong reading and writing abilities. In today’s digital world, literacy extends to navigating and understanding online content, further enhancing employability. Additionally, literacy empowers individuals to make informed decisions, engage in society, and pursue lifelong learning. Ultimately, literacy is key to economic mobility, social inclusion, and personal growth, making it an essential tool for success in all areas of life.
Our goal is to ensure that every student becomes a confident, capable reader who can understand and engage with a wide range of texts.
Why this matters:
Literacy is the foundation for learning and opportunity. When students can comprehend and think critically about what they read—whether in books, media, or everyday communication—they gain the tools they need to succeed academically, participate fully in society, and create a pathway to a fulfilling and successful life.
OUR FOCUS
Our main literacy focus will be on reading comprehension.
Why?
In all areas of learning, students read. Reading connects them to the world and introduces them to new learning. Through examining a variety of text forms, reading helps students make sense of everyday experiences and feelings, exposes them to different worldviews, identities and perspectives, and encourages them to be engaged, educated citizens.
Specifically, we want our students to demonstrate proficiency in the following competencies from the BC English Language Arts curriculum:
- Apply appropriate strategies to comprehend written and visual texts, guide inquiry, and extend thinking
- Recognize and appreciate how different features, forms, and genres of texts reflect different purposes, audiences, and messages
- Think critically, creatively, and reflectively to explore ideas within, between, and beyond texts
- Recognize and identify the role of personal, social, and cultural contexts, values, and perspectives in texts
- Construct meaningful personal connections between self, text, and world
- Recognize an increasing range of text structures and how they contribute to meaning
To highlight successes and assist in the determining of potential gaps, we will monitor a cohort of grade 8 Humanities students in relation to success in meeting the above goals.
OUR NEXT STEPS
- Early assessment tools will be used with all Humanities 8 students to be compared to a semester-end assessment tool.
- A variety of comprehension strategies will be taught and monitored
- Formative assessment checks and qualitative feedback will be gathered from the cohort.
- Two staff members are working with the district's literacy team. They will be mentors for others.
- Staff will practice the ideas shared by Stacey Joyce –the district helping teacher. Specifically, vocabulary acquisition and accessing prior knowledge strategies.
Surrey Schools
Formed in 1906, the Surrey School District currently has the largest student enrolment in British Columbia and is one of the few growing districts in the province. It is governed by a publicly elected board of seven trustees.
The district serves the cities of Surrey and White Rock and the rural area of Barnston Island.
