Our learning support and mentoring programs in 90 Australian communities directly help children in need achieve their goals through education.
View all programs Declan gave books a second chance and found joy in the pages
23 August 2022
At age 10, Year 5 student Declan would tell anyone who’d listen he hoped to be a policeman one day. But Declan’s mum Cassandra felt worried about his reading problems and low confidence. Both could block him from his dream.
Cassandra was unable to support Declan’s learning as much as she’d like, especially with reading, which he didn’t enjoy. “Declan’s biological father is dyslexic, and we suspect this got passed on to him too,” she says.
When Declan was invited to join The Smith Family’s learning programs, Cassandra was impressed by the range of extracurricular activities he could join to help him catch up and keep up. “I thought the programs were excellent,” she says.
Through our Digital Access program, made possible by our philanthropic partners, Declan received a free laptop. This helped him stay connected to his class during lockdowns.
“At the time, I was struggling to even cover our groceries and petrol, so we really couldn’t afford an internet connection,” says Cassandra. “But Declan also received free WiFi through The Smith Family. That made a massive difference to us".
Even so, remote lessons were tough for Declan and his learning suffered setbacks. “I was so relieved when he could finally go back to school,” Cassandra says. It was then Declan decided to join student2student, our out-of-school reading peer support program.
Declan was paired up with his buddy Matteo. Matteo would call Declan twice a week to chat, listen to him read and help him sound out hard words. "Suddenly, Declan was falling in love with reading,” says Cassandra.
In the two years since, Declan has moved up six reading levels at school and, remarkably, will read anything and everything! “I read before bed and in the morning at school with my class. I love Harry Potter, fantasy, and adventure books,” Declan says
“Our lives have changed dramatically since Declan started student2student,” says Cassandra. “We feel so supported and Declan can do much more than before". In fact, now Declan’s reading confidence from student2student is spilling over into other subjects. “My favourite subject is maths because I’m good at it, and I also love art and drawing, science and sport,” says Declan. “I am enjoying school now because I know a lot more words.”
As a supporter of students like Declan, this is how you disrupt disadvantage, helping them take small but crucial steps to achieve their long-term aspirations.
“I’ve wanted to become a policeman since I was a little boy, and that’s still my dream,” says Declan. “My mum and teacher are so proud of me for how far I’ve come.”
Read more student and family stories in our Spring 2022 edition of Real People, Real Stories
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