Struthers event says literacy starts at birth

By Sarah Lehr

slehr@vindy.com

STRUTHERS

The ability to turn scratches on a page into sounds that eventually morph into words is one that many adults take for granted.

But, for children, that ability is life-changing.

An “Imagine with Us” event Tuesday night at Struthers Elementary School focused on the life-changing potential of reading.

The event, open to 3- and 4-year-old children and their parents, sought to encourage early literacy with story time, crafts, presentations for parents and prizes.

Literacy night is an annual occurrence at Struthers Elementary School, but Tuesday night marked the first year the school partnered with the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley and the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County.

Kathy Mock, United Way’s director of education and initiative, said literacy should begin at birth. Parents can expose their children to books through activities such as nightly story time and weekly trips to the library, Mock said.

The United Way was on hand to register attendees for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library Initiative, a program in which children receive a free book in the mail every month. Any child in Mahoning County, ranging in age from a newborn to 5, is eligible to register.

Dennis Hynes, principal at Struthers Elementary, said parents can encourage reading before their children even arrive at kindergarten. Above all, children need to learn that reading can be a source of fun, not just facts, Hynes said.

“When I was in school, reading was a chore,” Hynes said. “I didn’t appreciate reading as much as I did as an adult.”

A total of 263 people, including 90 children, registered for the event, which also featured an appearance by the mobile Pop-Up Library, an initiative by the library that allows people to check out books outside of library buildings.

Sandi Horvath, a literacy coordinator and Title I teacher at the school, helped organize the event. She still has fond memories of her own early brush with reading: She went to the public library in her hometown of Chagrin Falls near Cleveland and checked out a book about a little donkey, she said.