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Extra hours count for readers ...
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By Jolene Guzman
Staff Writer
Thursday, August 07, 2008 | No comments posted.
Some students at Lincoln Elementary in Coquille just had one extra hour of reading each week in the Start Making a Reader Today program.
That extra time made all the difference in some students’ success.
Former Lincoln Elementary SMART volunteer reader Mary Craddock said for one boy in the third grade last year, the time in reading helped him keep up with other students.
“They thought if he didn’t have that extra hour each week, he would have dipped below grade-level,” Craddock said.
She said another girl wasn’t interested in reading at all at the beginning of the school year, but reading with a SMART volunteer changed that.
“By the end of the school year, she wanted to sit and read,” Craddock said.
Those success stories illustrated the impact the program made in the elementary school. It also made the news that Coquille would be losing its program coordinator, and therefore the program, all the harder to take.
In April, the SMART program announced it was going to shift 198 part-time paid coordinator positions statewide to volunteer. The move was intended to reduce the program’s expenses, allowing it to serve more children.
In Coquille, the move ended the program. Coquille School District Superintendent Diann Gillaspie said the district could not afford to pay the coordinator.
The idea of losing the program was too difficult for Craddock to accept.
So she didn’t.
Craddock heard that other parent-teacher organizations had started their own programs. So along with the parent teacher organization in Coquille, the Lincoln Elementary School PTO, Craddock decided to organize a similar program for next school year.
“I thought going from having the SMART program to nothing would not be beneficial,” she said.
In SMART, up to five students from each class participated in the program. Last year, 43 students attended SMART sessions. Teachers would recommend the students about a month after school started and the volunteers started reading with them in October. Craddock plans to have the new reading program work the same way.
Former SMART coordinator Hilma Wheeler, who ran Coquille’s program for two years, said running it takes quite a bit of time, especially in the beginning of the year. She had to find volunteers, fill out paperwork for each student, match students to readers and process book orders, on top of setting up space for the program to run two days a week.
“There is a lot of responsibility,” Wheeler said.
It was so much responsibility she didn’t believe it was fair to require coordinators to work without pay. The program itself, though, is needed, Wheeler said.
“I really truthfully think they need the extra reading,” she said.
Gillaspie agreed, saying she is grateful that a similar program will be offered next year.
“We’re glad that we are not going to lose the program,” she said.
At this stage, Craddock is the only one working on getting things started. She has recruited a few volunteer readers, including Wheeler, and hopes to see more willing to help once school starts in the fall.
“As the program gets going, there will be a lot more help,” she said.
That extra time made all the difference in some students’ success.
Former Lincoln Elementary SMART volunteer reader Mary Craddock said for one boy in the third grade last year, the time in reading helped him keep up with other students.
“They thought if he didn’t have that extra hour each week, he would have dipped below grade-level,” Craddock said.
She said another girl wasn’t interested in reading at all at the beginning of the school year, but reading with a SMART volunteer changed that.
“By the end of the school year, she wanted to sit and read,” Craddock said.
Those success stories illustrated the impact the program made in the elementary school. It also made the news that Coquille would be losing its program coordinator, and therefore the program, all the harder to take.
In April, the SMART program announced it was going to shift 198 part-time paid coordinator positions statewide to volunteer. The move was intended to reduce the program’s expenses, allowing it to serve more children.
In Coquille, the move ended the program. Coquille School District Superintendent Diann Gillaspie said the district could not afford to pay the coordinator.
The idea of losing the program was too difficult for Craddock to accept.
So she didn’t.
Craddock heard that other parent-teacher organizations had started their own programs. So along with the parent teacher organization in Coquille, the Lincoln Elementary School PTO, Craddock decided to organize a similar program for next school year.
“I thought going from having the SMART program to nothing would not be beneficial,” she said.
In SMART, up to five students from each class participated in the program. Last year, 43 students attended SMART sessions. Teachers would recommend the students about a month after school started and the volunteers started reading with them in October. Craddock plans to have the new reading program work the same way.
Former SMART coordinator Hilma Wheeler, who ran Coquille’s program for two years, said running it takes quite a bit of time, especially in the beginning of the year. She had to find volunteers, fill out paperwork for each student, match students to readers and process book orders, on top of setting up space for the program to run two days a week.
“There is a lot of responsibility,” Wheeler said.
It was so much responsibility she didn’t believe it was fair to require coordinators to work without pay. The program itself, though, is needed, Wheeler said.
“I really truthfully think they need the extra reading,” she said.
Gillaspie agreed, saying she is grateful that a similar program will be offered next year.
“We’re glad that we are not going to lose the program,” she said.
At this stage, Craddock is the only one working on getting things started. She has recruited a few volunteer readers, including Wheeler, and hopes to see more willing to help once school starts in the fall.
“As the program gets going, there will be a lot more help,” she said.
Reading program gets boost from city
The Lincoln School reading program has a helping hand from the Coquille City Council.
New program organizer Mary Craddock wrote a letter to the council and went before councilors in July, requesting assistance purchasing books for children to take home. Craddock estimated the program needed $2,520 to send a book home with students each month.
The city provided a little extra. The council previously paid $2,700 in support to the former SMART and voted to give that amount of money to the new program for next year.
The new program will run through the parent-teacher organization at the elementary school.
“I thought if other school PTOs could do it, then we can, too,” Craddock said. “We’re happy to continue a similar reading program.”
The Lincoln School reading program has a helping hand from the Coquille City Council.
New program organizer Mary Craddock wrote a letter to the council and went before councilors in July, requesting assistance purchasing books for children to take home. Craddock estimated the program needed $2,520 to send a book home with students each month.
The city provided a little extra. The council previously paid $2,700 in support to the former SMART and voted to give that amount of money to the new program for next year.
The new program will run through the parent-teacher organization at the elementary school.
“I thought if other school PTOs could do it, then we can, too,” Craddock said. “We’re happy to continue a similar reading program.”
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