Engadine Rotary through President John Walters is leading the way to revolutionize the reading, writing and language skills in Indigenous communities to improve early childhood literacy for Aboriginal children
Through the Parent Assisted Immersive Reading (P.A.I.R) model, parents use the power of three main reading styles most naturally used when reading aloud to their children (i.e. describer, comprehender & performance orientated).
With the support of Rotary, John is introducing the Immersive Reading Indigenous Support (IRIS) program to Aboriginal families in efforts to boost literacy levels in indigenous children.
P.A.I.R. has been created around the latest local and international research. It is built on the core premise that parents who regularly read aloud to their young child can dramatically improve the child’s literacy skills. The research in this area is overwhelming.
It is a project that has now drawn the interest of the University of Wollongong where it is researching " Translanguaging ", a new term and study in the field of bilingualism, most notably in the area of bilingual education - They will be researching the outcomes in the use and practice of the PAIR books distributed under this project.
This is indeed a worthy project and the club commends John's development and efforts to improve the education of indigenous children.
Like to know more about the background and development of PAIR , visit