LEHI, Utah — After scores Utah eighth graders scoring 4 points lower in reading than in 2022, FOX 13 News spent the morning with students from Lehi Junior High School to learn how they are using new methods to improve literacy.
"With reading a book, you kind of have to sit down and use your brain to figure things out, so definitely helps you grow,” said ninth-grade student Brooklyn Wells.
The school opened a new writing center this year, as a tool to help improve literacy in students.
"We have students who have actually been trained to help tutor kids with their writing,” explained the principal Matt King. “I think we've had close to 300 students this year who've already accessed that to get help."
Wells is one of those tutors.
"I think for some kids, maybe like having an adult that kind of knows a lot can be intimidating. And so having a kid that is kind of in their same position maybe could help them relate to it a little bit,” she added.
The school focuses on four pillars in its literacy program: vocabulary, background knowledge, oral fluency, and writing. Those pillars make sure students are good readers to help them later on.
"Especially in a world that’s just saturated with information now, kids need to have skills to be able to understand and read authentic texts, process those, and be able to respond accordingly,” added King.
For the past few years, the school has had a team working on strategies to make students better readers.
"I teach a regular reading skills class where we talk about reading strategies that improve all readers,” said Katherine Price, a teacher with the school's literacy team. “Like making connections as you read, learning to make inferences, using context clues to figure out unknown vocabulary."
For students like Wells, she said these tools are making a difference.
"I haven’t been a big reader myself, but I feel like as I’ve been into this class, I’ve been introduced to new books and new things, so I’ve loved kind of being able to see a different perspective on writing and everything."
