Literacy enhancement teachers at the Vancouver School District provide direct literacy interventions to students as needed. This may be by working one-to one, in small group settings, and within the classroom. They also support teachers with practices around literacy instruction. Vickie Hong, based at Grandview ¿UUQINAK’UUH Elementary, and Karen Samra, at Seymour Elementary, share their day-in-the-life stories.

What is your name and how are you today?

My name is Vickie Hong and I have been working for the Vancouver School District for the last 21 years. For the last six years, I have been working as a literacy enhancement teacher. For the last three years, I have been assigned to Grandview ¿UUQINAK’UUH Elementary. Every day is a new adventure and I am grateful to be part of such a wonderful school community.

Please describe your job.

As a literacy enhancement teacher, I provide literacy interventions to students. I support and facilitate professional development opportunities for teachers around literacy instruction. I work closely with the District literacy resource team and our school-based team. My passion in my job consists of working with students in the Reading Recovery program - where I work with Grade 1 students and teach them how to read and write!

How has the pandemic impacted your job?

The pandemic has added a whole new element to my job. I have adjusted to wearing a mask, physically distancing and hand washing/sanitizing. It has been hard to be understood while wearing a mask to showing our enthusiasm without high fives, hugs or pats on the back and to constantly remember to clean our hands/spaces. Learning to be flexible and familiarizing myself with technology as well as teaching in virtual spaces have been a learning curve this year. It has been both challenging and exciting to embrace the new ways of teaching and learning! Keeping safe and being optimistic have been a priority and I hope to model this with my students.

What is the favourite part of your job?

The best parts of teaching are the unexpected and unpredictability of kids! My most favourite moments are the relationships and connections made with students. The conversations and being able to celebrate the small successes are what I enjoy the most. I love it when you can see the confidence and the magical look in their eyes when the learning has clicked! The smiles are the best!

What is your daily routine?

Morning Throughout my morning I work with students on the Reading Recovery program individually.  I work closely with the classroom teachers to find ways to support and engage learners.  I am lucky to be able to work one-on-one with students to support their literacy development. I have the opportunity to connect and get to know my students and help them learn to read and write.

Afternoon In the afternoon I support students in small reading groups ranging from grades 1-3. We read books, we write, we draw, we play games and have fun! I also go into early primary classrooms and work collaboratively with classroom teachers. I help with literacy centres and individual reading assessments in class. Sometimes I am in meetings with various in school staff as well as meetings away from the school site working with our literacy enhancement team or District literacy team. In addition, this year I also help with online remote learners.

Evening In the evening, I have to be super organized to help manage the craziness of family life. I become a cook, a cleaner, a grocery shopper, a driver, a cheerleader, a problem solver, a dog walker, a runner and a MOM to two amazing teenagers that keep me on my toes!

What is your name and what is your job?

I’m Karen Samra and I’m a literacy enhancement teacher. I work with kids (kindergarten – grade 7) to improve their literacy skills. I work one-to-one, in small groups, within a class to enhance their literacy learning. I also work with teachers to enhance literacy teaching. As a group, literacy teachers work with vulnerable kids.

Please describe your daily routine.

My week is fairly scheduled but also flexible. I am lucky to work with kids 5 days a week. So my daily schedule stays the same everyday. The routine of seeing kids everyday and at the same time really helps build consistency and the kids know what expect when they get to come up to my room. While the schedule is set, there is always flexibility for when kids are away or when something unexpected pops up.

In the evenings at home I am a mom to three teenagers, so there is a lot of cooking, driving and talking! I love to have some quiet time late at night to drink some tea and read a book.

How has the pandemic impacted your job?

The pandemic has impacted my job in a few ways. At Seymour Elementary we are working within cohorts, so I am working with a smaller group of kids this year rather than the entire school. The masks make it harder for kids to hear and to see my mouth when practising words and sounds. I miss giving kids high fives for doing awesome work!

What is the favourite part of your job?

The favourite part of my job is that I am lucky to be able to read with kids all day long! I love watching students learn and grow and make connections with the stories. It is always great to see the amazement in students when I show them a book they could read in September and a book they can read later on in the year. They are always amazed at how much they can do! In the hallway, I love hearing kids tell me about the stories they read!