Grande Prairie, Alberta – The Grande Prairie Public School District is excited to share news of our partnership with Frontier College—a national literacy organization—at Avondale School.


The program led by Frontier College expanded to Grande Prairie last year and resulted in the implementation of an after-school tutoring program at Avondale School. This year, Frontier College and its volunteers are working at Avondale School with 18 students in grades 2 through 6 to support their reading during school hours.

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In photo: Fern, a Frontier College volunteer reading with Riley, a grade 2 student at Avondale School

Participating students are from a First Nations, Métis or Inuit background. In this program, the students read for 30 minutes, twice per week, with trained volunteers provided by Frontier College.

"I am very pleased to be supporting the learners at the Avondale Public School. The program aims to improve student academic achievement through an individualized approach to learning. To achieve this, we meet with the students to find out about their strengths and work as a team to build upon what they already know. It is great to see students acquire improved reading skills and it is very inspiring to watch them grow not only in their academic skills but in all aspects of their life. The confidence gained from programs such as this is invaluable," said, Janine Kozlowski, Community Coordinator, Frontier College.

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In photo: Joyce, a Frontier College volunteer reading  during her 30 minutes reading session with Tanis, a grade 3 student at Avondale School

The program started in September of 2018 and will run until June of 2019. It operates during school hours and provides one-to-one learning support to each of the 18 Avondale students. Frontier College volunteers, classroom teachers, and administrators at Avondale School are excited about the partnership as it supports the students’learning styles and needs.

Kristina Black, Principal at the school, expressed her opinion by saying “[Our] partnership with Frontier College has provided a wonderful opportunity for several of our students who require support with reading to have one-on-one instruction and practice for 30 minutes twice a week. Janine Kozlowski, Community Coordinator, and her team work with students at a variety of reading levels to help them to close the gap and achieve excellence in reading.”

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In photo: Jen, a Frontier College volunteer reading with Theo, a grade 3 student at Avondale School

Article provided by the Grande Prairie Public School District.