Learning to love books: One student at a time
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Duncan McDougall (right), executive director of Children's Literacy Foundation, jumps in the air while reading a story to Rutland Middle School students on Thursday evening. Cassandra Hotaling / Rutland Herald |
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By Cristina Kumka Staff Writer - Published: November 23, 2009
Literacy experts say it's never too early for parents to start reading to their children, and, as evidenced at Rutland Intermediate School's annual literacy night Thursday, it's never too early for children to choose books.
Take it from 8-year-old Avery Willis and her mom, Courtney Hier.
Willis says she wakes up every Wednesday looking forward to reading with her adult volunteer mentor.
Hier says she's grateful that another adult has helped her make a productive habit stick with her daughter.
"She's really nice and she told me she likes horses, so we read about horses," Willis said at the end of literacy night held in the school's cafeteria.
The annual event featured storytelling by Douglas McDougall of the Children's Literacy Foundation of Waterbury Center, a forum for parents to gain reading tips, and reading activities and free books for students.
"Reading is something you need to do every day for the rest of your life," said Hier, flipping the pages of a free book her daughter received that night.
"They are only children once, and anything to help a child is worth it."
Of the 60 students in grades 3 through 6 in the school's reading mentoring program, organized through the organization Everybody Wins! Vermont, most of them choose to read rather than go out for recess, according to program organizers and students.
For the past 10 years, adults from across the Rutland community, from all different walks of life and professions, have volunteered an hour a week to sit at the school with a student and read stories.
The job of a mentor is a simple one — make reading fun, according to Trisha Huebner, program director in Rutland for the past three years.
The students involved in the program are of all reading levels.
Some just love to read, some are looking for an adult role model and others are looking to improve their reading, Huebner said.
A survey of more than half of the mentors involved in the program last year showed that nearly all the students said their reading mentors helped them read better.
Of the parents that responded to the survey, 71 percent said their child's vocabulary skills improved or improved greatly.
And of the teachers who responded, 90 percent said because of their mentoring relationship, their students felt that more adults cared about them.
Alexandra "Sandy" Cohen, who took up being a mentor four months ago after she retired as head of The Mentor Connector, said she felt more cared about, too.
"It's nice to have a little kid that appreciates you," Cohen said, adding that her time mentoring at the school is a small commitment that reaps big rewards.
"You don't have to think about what you are going to do with the child," she said. "The books are already there."
McDougall told parents who attended the literacy night that reading was too important to let it stop at school and with their child's adult mentor.
He told parents they didn't have to be expert readers themselves — all they needed was the ability to tell a story and the dedication to spend quality time with their kids.
"A lot of us forget, our lives are so busy, but this is something really worth remembering," McDougall said.
For more information on the Everybody Wins! Vermont literacy program at Rutland Intermediate School or to become a volunteer mentor, call 229-2665 or visit www.ewvt.org.
cristina.kumka@rutlandherald.com.
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