CHAMPION SCHOOLS Literacy initiatives pay off for pupils

The elementary school is looking for community volunteers to read to pupils.
By AMANDA C. DAVIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
CHAMPION -- Literacy initiatives at Central Elementary School are helping to build young readers.
School officials say reading is a priority among teachers, and programs have been developed to make reading enjoyable for pupils in grades one through four.
Connie Dozier, the school's OhioReads coordinator, said volunteers from the community are being sought to read with a child once a week during recess.
About the program: About 75 pupils participate in the program that started at the end of January, she said, and of those, 72 are matched up with a community volunteer.
"The kids are really enjoying the program," Dozier said. "They don't mind missing recess at all."
The program is offered to pupils in kindergarten through third grade, as fourth-graders are busy preparing for proficiency tests, she said.
Volunteers discuss books with children, trying to get them to open up about favorite characters, what they liked and what they didn't like, Dozier said.
A new initiative being offered at the school, the Honorary Bookshare program, allows a family, parent or community member to purchase a book in honor of a child or loved one and donate it to the school library.
Age-appropriate books will be chosen from a list drafted by staff, and a bookplate will be attached to it with the child's or loved one's name.
School officials say the program will give the library a chance to update and broaden its selections.
Here's the goal: Principal Beverly Hoagland said the school has a reading intervention program at each grade level, kindergarten through grade four.
"We want every child to be reading competently by the time they leave fourth grade," she said.
A teacher is on staff to help first- and second-graders with reading, and two teachers at each grade level provide specialized reading instruction for pupils with varying ability, Hoagland said.
In addition to community volunteers, a group of parents, called THOT, or Teacher Helpers or Tutors, meet weekly with students to help with reading and other subjects.
The boost in literacy programs in recent years has paid off, Hoagland said, pointing out that 77 percent of pupils who took the fourth-grade proficiency test in 2000 passed the reading portion of the exam.
Reading filters into every aspect of our lives -- a necessity at home, in the workplace and at school, Hoagland said.
"Reading is the most critical skill that children need," she said. "That's why it's so important to start them early."