A READING programme for schools in the East Kingston and Port Royal constituency was officially launched Wednesday, at the Knutsford Court Hotel in St. Andrew.
Some 150 students involved in the first phase of the programme were awarded certificates of participation.
Maxine Henry-Wilson, Minister of Education, who was guest speaker at the function, noted that the programme was a "true representation" of the type of support Members of Parliament should be providing for their constituencies.
"I want us to say to our young people that the greatest programme a Member of Parliament can provide is allowing you to take charge of your life," she said.
The reading programme was developed out of a meeting between Phillip Paulwell, the M.P. for the constituency, and the schools within the area. Five literacy centres were established at five schools across the constituency and two teachers were assigned to each centre.
The teachers were trained by Carmeneta Jones, reading specialist and instructor at the University of the West Indies (UWI). Since the programme's introduction in January, schools have reported an improvement among the children involved.
The children who were reading below their grade levels had moved up by at least one level and some children as much as three levels.
Minister Paulwell said the performance of schools will also be evaluated and used as a basis for providing incentives.
The reading programme replaced the constituency's former back-to-school programme where school supplies, including book vouchers, were provided for families for students to return to school.
