Hyland Elementary 25-26
OUR CONTEXT
At Hyland Elementary, we deeply value a sense of belonging. As a team, we take intentional steps to create a welcoming environment for all—whether it's waving hello, saying good morning, or building meaningful relationships with one another. We believe that a sense of safety begins with trust, and that strong relationships lay the foundation for students to thrive.
Our focus on skill-building emphasizes learning through action. We recognize that students benefit from multiple access points and diverse approaches to learning, allowing each child to reach their fullest potential.
We are committed to being culturally responsive, understanding that culture is multidimensional. Our students bring a rich array of strengths, perspectives, and ways of knowing, shaped by both their current experiences and heritage backgrounds. At Hyland, 33 languages are spoken by our families, and we proudly support 232 English-language learners at various stages of language development.
We strive to create a supportive and inclusive school environment where all identities and perspectives are valued. By honoring the diversity within our community, we aim to ensure every student feels seen, heard, and empowered to succeed.
OUR LEARNERS
As defined by the Ministry of Education, literacy encompasses the multifaceted ability to comprehend, critically evaluate, and generate various modes of communication—including oral, written, visual, digital, and multimedia formats—to achieve one’s goals. These skills enable learners to apply essential reading, writing, speaking, and listening proficiencies across subject areas, serving as the foundation for lifelong learning. Through strong literacy skills, learners are empowered to engage with information, think critically, and express themselves effectively in diverse contexts, fostering ongoing personal and intellectual growth. This year, our school has been deepening its focus on literacy instruction in our primary classrooms through evidence-based practices and research-backed methodologies, with an emphasis on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
Literacy skills are the foundation upon which children not only learn the lifelong skills of reading and writing, but also, life skills that enable them to make sense of their world, build essential critical thinking skills, and effectively communicate with others. Throughout the school day, our learners are engaged in many different rich literacy activities in all subject areas, which reinforces the importance of learning to read. In some classrooms, students could be exploring non-fiction picture books to learn about a topic, engaging in a student-led literature circle discussion about a text or expressing the words of poetry, songs, and stories through drama and movement, showing that there are many ways to develop literacy skills. Integration of literacy across disciplines not only enriches the understanding but also reinforces the importance of developing reading abilities.
Examples of our learners engaged in literacy activities are highlighted below:
Our learners can use developmentally appropriate reading, listening and viewing strategies to make meaning
Students draw on prior knowledge and understanding of text structures to make predictions, visualize ideas, and make connections to themselves and the world around them. Through questioning, inferring, and engaging in thoughtful conversations with peers and adults, learners deepen their understanding while demonstrating respect for diverse perspectives and contributions.
Our learners participate in conversations and communicate their ideas confidently about topics they know and understand.
A group of our learners participated in the Global Read Aloud. By reading the same book as classrooms around the world, they engaged in purposeful conversations, compared ideas and opinions, and built on one another’s thinking. This global community of readers strengthened students’ communication skills while deepening comprehension, connection-making, and overall engagement in literacy.
Our learners can find joy in sharing stories
When our learners build with toys and then create stories about their structures, they experience the joy of sharing stories in a playful, creative way. As they describe what they built, they practice key narrative skills—like sequencing, using descriptive language, and making meaning—that support early reading development. Sharing these stories with classmates helps them build confidence and see themselves as emerging readers who understand how stories work.
Our learners can engage actively as listeners, viewers, and readers
Buddy reading helps early learners grow as active listeners, engaged viewers, and developing readers by giving them supportive, meaningful interactions with text. When younger students read with older buddies, they hear fluent reading, learn how to follow along, and stay focused on the story.
Students in grades 4 and 5 have been excited to participate in the Reading Link Challenge. This program motivates learners to read a shared set of novels, pay attention to important details, and discuss their ideas with teammates. It offers a fun, engaging way for students to build their reading skills outside of class time while fostering a genuine love of reading.
OUR FOCUS
This year, we have shifted the focus of our Student Learning Plan to literacy. Last year, we closely examined reading assessment data across the primary grades. By the end of the 2024–2025 school year, our Grade 1 cohort showed that 62% of students were performing at the Emerging level, with only 10% meeting (Proficient) and 19% exceeding (Extending) grade-level expectations. This data signals a significant concern and highlights the need for targeted action in early literacy.
Similar patterns are evident in Grades 2 and 3, where 41% and 33% of students, respectively, remain at the Emerging level. Together, these results reinforce the need for a coordinated, school-wide approach, supported by targeted interventions, to ensure all students develop the foundational skills required for long-term success.
In response, our school has strengthened literacy instruction in primary classrooms by deepening the use of evidence-based practices and research-aligned methodologies. Most primary teachers are now implementing the UFLI (University of Florida Literacy Institute) framework to support systematic and explicit instruction. Our work emphasizes the core components of reading development: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
To support this work, we have explored more comprehensive reading assessments that provide meaningful data to guide instruction. While we have traditionally used the DRA to assess reading, we are in the process of transitioning to Acadience in primary grades and DIBELS in intermediate grades to strengthen consistency and alignment. As part of this effort, we hosted DIBELS Lunch and Learns, offering teachers ongoing opportunities to build assessment literacy and refine their practice.
A key area of focus has been phonemic awareness, a component of phonological awareness that involves the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds within words. This skill is foundational to early reading success and closely linked to fluency, decoding, and comprehension. Instructional approaches emphasize explicit phonics instruction, small-group learning, and engaging, play-based activities to provide the repetition and practice needed to support all learners, particularly those requiring additional support.
OUR NEXT STEPS
Our work with one cohort has demonstrated meaningful growth in student achievement. In the initial data set, 83% of students were performing at the Emerging level, with 12.5% at Proficient and 4% at Extending. In the most recent data, there is a clear shift in performance: 37.5% of students are at Emerging, 8% at Developing, 29% at Proficient, and 25% at Extending. This reflects a significant decrease in the number of students performing below expectations, alongside a strong increase in those meeting and exceeding grade-level standards. These results indicate positive progress and suggest that our focused, school-wide efforts in literacy instruction are beginning to have a measurable impact on student learning outcomes.
As the Learning Support Teacher team, we’ve noticed steady, gradual improvement in students’ foundational literacy skills since implementing UFLI. While many students continue to need support, they are showing increased confidence with phonemic awareness and are more willing to attempt segmenting, blending, and decoding unfamiliar words. The consistent language and routines used across classrooms and within LST have helped students know what to expect and apply strategies more reliably. This shared approach has also strengthened alignment among staff, supporting clearer intervention and more cohesive instruction for students who are still developing early literacy skills.
FSA literacy data indicates that both Grade 4 and Grade 7 student performance remains below district and provincial benchmarks. In 2024/25, 51% of Grade 4 students were meeting expectations (On Track or Extending), compared to 57% at the district level and 63% provincially. Similarly, in Grade 7, 61% of students met expectations, which is also below district (63%) and provincial (67%) results. These gaps highlight a consistent pattern across both grade levels and reinforce the need for targeted, school-wide efforts to improve literacy outcomes and close the gap with district and provincial performance.
Moving Forward
- Strengthen Consistent Implementation of UFLI
We will continue to support consistent implementation of the UFLI framework across all primary classrooms. This will include developing common instructional routines to ensure high-quality, aligned literacy instruction.
- Provide Release Time for Collaborative Planning
We will allocate release time for primary teachers to collaborate in grade groups. This time will be used to co-plan instruction, analyze student data, and share effective literacy strategies to ensure consistency and responsiveness across classrooms.
- Further Implement Acadience and DIBELS
We will continue the transition from DRA to Acadience (primary) and DIBELS (intermediate) to strengthen the consistency and reliability of our assessment practices. Professional learning will focus on both administering assessments and using the data to inform instruction.
- Continue Lunch and Learn Professional Development
We will continue offering “Lunch and Learn” sessions focused on interpreting Acadience and DIBELS data, identifying instructional responses to common reading challenges and sharing effective classroom practices
- Provide Bug Club Morphology Resources
We will introduce Bug Club Morphology resources to support the development of students’ understanding of word structure, including prefixes, suffixes, and root words. This will strengthen vocabulary development, decoding, and reading comprehension, particularly for students in the intermediate grades.
- Host a Parent/Caregiver Literacy Information Session
We will host a parent information session on early literacy development, inviting families to come together to read with their children, enjoy literacy games, and learn simple strategies to support reading at home
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.
