Reading and Mentoring Program (RAMP)
Concord High School runs an annual Reading and Mentoring Program with students from Five Dock Public School.
The successful program has been running for several years now and allows Concord students to develop their communication and leadership skills, whilst Five Dock students benefit by receiving assistance with their reading and social skills.
After an application process, Year Advisors select Year 8 students whom they believe would be suitable for the program. Mentors then attend a training day and receive training on all aspects of the program.
Mentors are then assigned either a reading buddy or a social skills buddy, with whom they meet once a week for a mentoring session.
Students from the Program had the following to say about their RAMP experience:
· "Being able to actually see the kids week by week is really encouraging. Seeing that kids were enjoying your company and are excited is also rewarding."
· "Helping the kids learn was an awesome experience. It made me feel really good inside."
· "I enjoyed getting to know the kids and help improve their reading."
MultiLit Program
Concord High runs a MultiLit ("Making Up for Lost Time in Literacy") program for students who are identified as being a low progress reader.
This highly successful program was developed by Macquarie University in the 1990s.
It does not focus on the underlying cause or reasons for why a child may not have made progress in reading. Instead the Multilit approach is to use effective instruction as the key to growth in this area.
It encapsulates a contemporary approach to best practice Literacy instruction as identified by international reading scientists.
Students who have been through our MultiLit program have not only enjoyed improvement in their reading but also in their self-esteem and sense of self-worth.