Sunyani: The ReadSpell Literacy Foundation has equipped hundreds of teachers in the Bono Region with practical tools for effective teaching and learning, according to Madam Salomey Kwabea Agyei, its founder.
According to Ghana News Agency, the foundation was launched following the 'Salomey Read-A-Thon', a Guinness World Record attempt for the 'Longest Marathon Reading Aloud' held in May and June 2024. After reading for 203 hours, 41 minutes, and 2 seconds and completing 50 books, Mad Agyei dedicated her passion to transforming literacy in basic schools.
Speaking in an interview in Sunyani, Mad Agyei highlighted the foundation's belief in empowering teachers to create confident readers. She mentioned that the foundation has organized free literacy workshops for teachers across various districts and municipalities in the Bono and parts of the Bono East Regions. These workshops equip teachers with modern phonics-based approaches, practical methods, and teaching materials to make reading easier for pupils.
Additionally, the foundation has supplied beneficiary teachers with Readspell Phonics Teacher's Guide, Readspell Stories (graded readers), and Flashcards for classroom practice. The specially designed Readspell Phonics Programme aims to make teaching reading and spelling simple, practical, and effective for teachers in the country.
Mad Agyei noted that over 19,000 learners have benefited indirectly through the trained teachers. With the support of the Ghana Education Service (GES), the foundation has established reading clubs in some basic schools in the region. She expressed the foundation's commitment to enhancing learners' reading skills and extending its services to all schools in the Bono Region and beyond.
Mad Agyei appealed for sponsorship support and partnerships to provide more teaching materials for teachers and expand its workshops to cover every district in the region. She emphasized that with sponsorship, the foundation could establish more reading clubs in schools in deprived communities.
The foundation also aims to inculcate the habit of reading into every Ghanaian child and make reading easy and accessible. Mad Agyei stated that their services are provided for free to both private and public schools, and they seek support from the government, NGOs, corporate, and religious bodies to help build the reading skills and talents of young children.
She indicated that the foundation offers services such as exploring words, sounds, and simple spelling patterns, building vocabulary, sentence skills, and stronger spelling ability. Other services include mastering fluency, comprehension, and accurate spelling, along with advancing reading with confidence and excellence in spelling.