WEATHERSFIELD SCHOOLS Educators counteract budget woes with hands-on teaching approach

The superintendent reads to pupils once a week.
MINERAL RIDGE -- Superintendent Michael Hanshaw sets aside one hour a week from his schedule to read to fourth-graders in the library at Seaborn Elementary School.
The library program at the school is suffering from budget cuts, but from the superintendent to the librarian the educators keep the message clear to pupils that reading is important.
School Librarian Patti Andrews said that she has been working diligently to develop a quality program at the library.
At the meeting
Andrews told the Weathersfield school board that despite the fact the district has no money to buy books for the library, she has been fortunate because Seaborn's Home and School Association donated $1,700 last year, which paid for 180 books.
She will spend an additional $1,500 this year, also donated by the association. She said she was "very grateful" for the donations, saying, "Otherwise we wouldn't be getting any books at all."
She noted that usual guidelines for stocking a library are that two books per pupil be purchased per year, an unattainable goal without a board budget for purchasing books.
Due to recent cutbacks in school district spending because of a pending deficit, even with the passage of a 5.5-mill five-year emergency operating levy in November, no plans have been made to buy library books.
Andrews, however, stressed the importance of getting children to read in a presentation to the board. Cindy Mulgrew, school principal, said that parents, teachers and even Hanshaw read to the children at the elementary school.
Hanshaw has a shelf set aside just for him in the library filled with books he can use during his reading sessions.
Lifetime of reading
Andrews said she works to promote a life-long learning through reading. She said the reading goals are also helping to increase the performance of pupils on standardized tests. She tries to determine what the children are interested in, so she can entice pupils to read with books on subjects they like.
She added: "Research says that children who read do better." Promoting an interest in reading, especially among boys, is a huge problem, but she is learning ways to get their interest, one of which is by carrying books about sports, she said.
Andrews also said she considers herself to be a resource person for teachers and welcomes them to make use of the materials and books she has gathered to help them in the classroom. A Seaborn staff book club is also one of her goals, and she has contacted all employees to ask them to join.
Other business
Board members approved receiving payment for their duties as board members in 2005, at a rate of $125 a meeting for the most recently elected or re-elected board members, and $80 a meeting for those who are mid-term, including president Dr. Douglas Darnall and Bruce Bacak. Board member Fred McCandless said he has instructed the clerk he will go the year without pay, to save the district money.