Project READ (Responsible English Advocacy Development) Reaching Out to Scaffold Gaps Among Learners

This study examined Project READ (Responsible English Advocacy Development) as a reading intervention for struggling Grade 2–6 learners. It sought to describe learners’ reading performance and difficulties in word recognition, decoding, and reading comprehension; identify appropriate instructional approaches; and develop a reading intervention program. The research combined qualitative and quantitative methods and identified 68 struggling readers. The Philippine Informal Reading Inventory, a researcher-made questionnaire, observations, interviews, and focus group discussions formed part of the data-gathering procedures. Frequency counts, percentages, weighted means, and standard deviations were used to describe the findings. The reported reading inventories showed a reduction in non-readers from 16 before the intervention to 2 afterward, alongside movement toward instructional and independent reading levels. Teacher responses described the indicators for word recognition, decoding, and reading comprehension as highly observed. The study emphasized explicit instruction, modeling, supported practice, independent practice with feedback, and sustained cooperation between teachers and parents or guardians. Recommended activities included localized reading worksheets, regular reading remediation, home support, and face-to-face, telephone, or text-based follow-up. The proposed program organized these activities into pre-implementation, implementation, and post-implementation phases, including orientation, learner screening, scheduled reading activities, and post-test assessment. The study recommended continued reading remediation, stronger parental involvement, the development of learning materials, and replication with a larger sample. Despite existing school-based reading interventions, a significant research gap remains regarding the development and evaluation of structured, localized, and multi-component reading programs that simultaneously address word recognition, decoding, and reading comprehension among struggling elementary learners across multiple grade levels. Previous interventions often focus on isolated reading skills or short-term remediation, with limited attention to sustained home-school collaboration, localized learning materials, and systematic monitoring before, during, and after implementation. This gap provided the rationale for developing Project READ as a more comprehensive and context-responsive reading intervention.