The Evergreen School Division is seeing notable improvements in student reading skills following a shift to a structured literacy program. During an April 2026, meeting, trustees reviewed progress reports from principal Randy Semenek of Riverton Early Middle School and some of the division’s Student Services team, highlighting significant academic growth across the region.
The division, which serves approximately 1,500 students in Arborg, Gimli, Riverton, and Winnipeg Beach, moved away from its previous reading instruction methods over five years ago. It replaced them with an approach focused on explicit phonics instruction. This transition has led to measurable results, including a nearly 20 percent increase in the number of Grade 3 students meeting reading benchmarks at the end of the 2024/2025 school year compared to the year prior. The division is currently within three percentage points of reaching its goal of having 80 percent of students reading at benchmark by June 2026.
The impact of these changes was evident to board members during their recent session. Board Chair Dianna Auer noted a brief interaction with a Grade 1 student who confidently declared, “Of course I can read that — I’m in Grade 1!” — an exchange she said reinforces the strength of Evergreen classrooms. This success follows earlier gains, such as a 5 percent increase in kindergarten to Grade 6 students reading at grade level during the 2023-2024 school year, with Indigenous students seeing a 12.17 percent improvement.
Trustees also pointed to the importance of teacher collaboration in maintaining these gains. Trustee Amanda Mosher praised the peer-to-peer coaching taking place at Riverton Early Middle School, calling it “fantastic professional development” that fosters trust and teamwork among educators. Additionally, Trustee Sandra Davies emphasized the need for consistent communication, noting that the Student Services team is focused on building strong, trusting relationships with local families to support student learning. The division’s work in this area was recently recognized with a 2024 Dyslexia Canada Educational Excellence Award.
