Nova Iguaçu literacy projects improve student reading performance

The Municipal Education Secretariat (SEMED) in Nova Iguaçu has implemented various reading projects to improve literacy among 1st and 2nd-grade students. At Escola Municipal Flor de Lis, initiatives such as ‘Pelotão da Leitura’, ‘Lendo com o Senhor Alfabeto’, and ‘Ler é um Gol de Campeão’ use playful methods to encourage reading, writing, and autonomy.

Supported by a partnership with the Instituto Ayrton Senna, these programs have yielded measurable improvements. In the ‘Se Liga’ program, the proportion of students at the lowest levels of Portuguese language proficiency dropped from 60% to 36%, while the average number of books read per student increased from 1.5 to 3.9. Additionally, the ‘Acelera Brasil’ program saw writing performance rise from 38% to 58%, with the average books read per student increasing from 2.3 to 4.4.

Education Secretary Virgínia Rocha stated that the goal is to make literacy a process that stimulates autonomy and the ability of children to understand and express themselves in the world.