LEE COUNTY, Fla-- Schools throughout Lee County start on August 10th and when kids head back to class for the 2017/2018 school year, students will be greeted with a new reading curriculum.
Teachers have been busy attending workshops for the past 3 weeks leading up to the start of the school year. The goal of the new program is to give students a better overall sense of cohesiveness and for students to carry the skills through multiple grade levels.
"If they do not have those phonics skills then that's where sometimes our really high readers begin to struggle because they don't know how to tackle the words. So that's what we are looking at doing, how to help all students and give them a toolbox that they can pull from so they can be more successful," said director of elementary curriculum for LCSD Brandy Macchia.
Teachers going through the training said they are excited to start working with their kids in the classroom.
"This is something that's going to benefit them through everything that they do including math and reading word problems, science and social studies," said 5th grade teacher Dr. Joseph Mancini.
However, the school district stresses parents need to also get involved in their kids learning to ensure success.
"I think reading with your child and listening to them read is really, really important," said LCSD teacher leader Karen Wills.
