Parents, advocates and the Opposition NDP are sounding the alarm over the province’s education system, saying too many students are falling behind in their literacy skills.
They say better supports should be in place to help young learners.
“One of the most fundamental jobs of our schools is to teach every child to read,” said Louise Hanavan, a parent and co-founder of Literacy Justice Nova Scotia.
The advocacy group formed late last year, and Hanavan said it was prompted by the co-founders’ shared experiences in the school system.
“My child has struggled to learn to read and wasn’t able to access the right supports at school. And our family is not alone. More than 20,000 kids across Nova Scotian are way below reading level,” she told reporters Tuesday during a media availability at the Nova Scotia legislature.
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The latest provincial testing results for 2025-26 shows about half of Grade 6 students aren’t meeting writing expectations. For the previous year, the results showed a third of Grade 8 students are reading at levels below what’s expected.
“Literacy Justice Nova Scotia is calling on the Houston government to fund and implement a remedial literacy plan for older students in Nova Scotia by this September 2026,” said Hanavan.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Maguire says he too is worried about the assessment scores, but assures parents a strategy is in place.
“When it comes to literacy, we do have our literacy strategy, and that’s been implemented from P to (Grade) 2, and next year it will be (grades) 3 to 6. That’s going back to the basics, going back to phonics,” he said.
But the Opposition and Nova Scotia Teachers’ Union say upcoming changes to specialized teaching jobs concern them the most.
The Department of Education is reducing three per cent of school staff as part of broader cuts to the public service. Maguire previously said 78 Nova Scotia Teachers’ Union positions are impacted and “most” of them would be deployed back into the classroom. The positions include literary specialists and math coaches.
“This should be setting off alarm bells for the Houston government. They’re cutting the services, the people who help students succeed. Student support workers, school libraries, and public libraries are not optional,” said NDP education critic, Paul Wozney.
But Maguire says “no one is losing their jobs” when it comes to those specialized positions.
“What we’re doing is we’re redeploying some of our most experienced teachers back into the classroom,” he said.
However, the union doesn’t interpret the changes that way.
“Whether it’s a mathematics coach, literacy coach, mentor, specialist positions, or early literacy support — these teachers, those positions are ending, and they’re being put into a classroom position,” said Peter Day, NSTU president.
“So come September, there will be over 82 or around 82 fewer teaching positions in public schools in Nova Scotia.”
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