Book-It has adults reading to Head Start-age pupils

The child who has the most books read will win a pizza party from Pizza Hut.
By SEAN BARRON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- Three-year-old Donte Harris was excited to see Mayor George McKelvey in person. Four-year-old Kenny Bledsoe said he was happy to have the mayor read aloud to him and his classmates.
Kenny and Donte were among 18 pupils age 3 to 5 whose Head Start classroom the mayor visited Tuesday. McKelvey was on hand to participate in the Book-It Beginners program at the Rockford Village Head Start 1 and 2 site of the Mahoning Youngstown Community Action Partnership, on Youngstown's East Side.
The literacy program, sponsored by Pizza Hut through the Sesame Street program, is aimed at providing tools that encourage more interactions between children and their parents.
Advantages
The Book-It program, in its fifth year, also helps the pupils with their social and reading skills, as well as their language development, explained Eva Jordon, a Head Start teacher. Jordon and teachers Nina Booth, Melissa Kerr and Renee Zura run the Rockford Village Head Start program.
The program, which began March 1 and runs through April 30, reinforces reading by allowing pupils to take home books for their parents to read to them. A coupon containing the child's name and book title is issued for each book read, and a pizza party will be held in early May for the child who collects the most coupons, Jordon said. So far, about 40 coupons have been posted for April.
Each pupil will receive a Pizza Hut certificate for a free pizza for taking part in the Book-It program, she added.
The pupils laughed and answered questions McKelvey asked as he read "The Night Before Easter," by Natasha Wing, and "Grow Flower Grow." The latter book, by Lisa Bruce, is about a girl who tries to get her flower seed to grow by feeding it spaghetti and other foods from her refrigerator.
When that fails, in frustration she tosses it outside, where the seedling is exposed to sun and light and finally germinates and grows.
Jordon said that her pupils used to lack reading materials and that her classroom now stresses literacy through daily group reading time. Each day, a child gets to select a book to be read during that time, she added.
Purposes
Among other things, Head Start encourages parents, mental-health experts and other professionals to have an active role in the children's learning and development.
The Rockford Village facility has a work station for the teachers to prepare lesson plans, and the space also acts as a room for parents and others to observe pupils in the two classrooms and monitor progress.
Nikki Davis, MYCAP's public information manager, pointed out that Head Start strives to "teach concepts rather than rote learning." Instead of simply teaching numbers by repetition, for example, the program uses experiences and concepts to get across the idea, which enhances learning, she noted.
"Teachers in public schools see developmental differences in kids through high school," Davis said.
Davis also praised Richard A. Roller, MYCAP's executive director, and Lois J. Clark, director of Head Start, for administering the Book-It program and for their support of literacy efforts geared toward helping Head Start families in Mahoning County.