The summer of reading

By Nichole Livengood  

APRIL 21, 2011 11:46 a.m. (0)

There are no books in the homes of many of the children who attend Cleveland Elementary School located in a part of Spartanburg where 99 percent of the households are considered below the federal poverty index.

Robin Chandler, the school’s media specialist, sees it every day and feels it most acutely when the children go home for the summer.

They don’t read and they don’t have a way to get to a public library.

And so they slip behind.

“Research has shown that a child’s reading ability in third grade acts as a barometer for later school and life success,” said Rebecca Ramos, board chair of the Hub City Writers Project.

“Our goal is to just get books in their home. Will they read them? Maybe or maybe not.”

Nevertheless, it is important to give students that opportunity, Ramos said.

That’s why Hub City Writers Project and 20 other local organizations are conducting a book drive beginning Monday through May 1 that will put give books to students from three Spartanburg city schools as they go home for summer break.

The goal of Great Kids Deserve Great Books is to collect at least 3,000 new or gently used children’s and young adult books to redistribute to Carver Junior High School, Cleveland Elementary and Houston Elementary.

“Some neighborhoods in Spartanburg average one age-appropriate book for every 300 children. We have a chance to change that,” said Ramos.

The organization chose schools in their neighborhood for the pilot program, and they have already been approached by teachers at other schools wanting to participate in next year’s book drive.

“Regardless of other activities, the best predictor of summer loss or summer gain is whether or not a child reads during the summer. And the best predictor of whether a child reads is whether or not he or she owns books,” wrote Anne McGill-Franzen and Richard Allington in a 2003 report for Scholastic.

Houston Elementary School is in the heart of Spartanburg just off Main Street and has served the community since 1964.

There are 452 students enrolled and 82 percent participate in the free and/or reduced lunch program, said Jennifer Dowis, administrative assistant/curriculum coordinator.

“The Hub City Book Project will place a variety of books in the hands of our children,” she said. “We are fortunate for this opportunity because we are always seeking means to purchase and give additional books to our students.”

Her school just won a Bookapalooza grant, which will give the school 3,000 new books for their library. To encourage kids to keep reading during the summer, Houston Elementary library will be open on Tuesday and Thursdays from 9 a.m. until noon through the end of June.  The school also encourages students to take part in summer programs at the public library and local recreation centers.

“National research shows that children lose ground during the summer if they do not engage in learning activities. We want our children to continue to read and the book drive certainly encourages this,” said Houston Principal Tommy Stokes.

A study conducted by the National Summer Learning Association concluded that on average, children from low-income families lose nearly three months of grade-level equivalency during the summer months each year. The results are contributed in part to a lack of educational tools in the home.

“Literacy and the education of our children is a social responsibility that we all have to each other in order to make our community better,” said Denise Frazier, director of Multicultural Affairs at Wofford and a member of the book drive committee.

The National Institute for Literacy found that 43 percent of the people with the lowest literacy skills live in poverty.

“As cliché as it sounds, our kids are our future.  I believe that a socially inequitable society can be remedied with great education and access to knowledge across the board.   This initiative is making a contribution to this goal.”

Chandler organizes a summer reading incentive program at Cleveland Elementary that ties into the state’s No Book Left Unread program. Cleveland Elementary has the highest free and reduced lunch rate in the district at more than 88 percent.

Carver has a 87.78 percent free and reduced lunch rate.

“We believe that a child who reads succeeds, and our whole community benefits,” said Ramos.