Read Aloud program reaching students
ELKINS — Jennings Randolph Elementary School students are excited about a new selection of books thanks to Read Aloud Randolph County.
Mary Boyd, president of Read Aloud Randolph County, said Kay Young, board member for Read Aloud and Read Aloud volunteer at Jennings Randolph and Coalton Elementary schools, heard about the ability to receive books for distribution during a summer program sponsored by Read Aloud West Virginia.
Young said the purpose of the book distribution is to encourage parents to read to kids, kids to read to parents or kids to read to other kids. She said three facts about reading include the reading level required to succeed is higher than ever. Also, West Virginia students are not keeping up. While reading scores for West Virginia eighth graders improved slightly between 2009 and 2001, they are lower than the eighth grade scores in 45 other states. Finally, West Virginia boys are particularly lagging behind. In eighth grade, West Virginia girls score 13 points higher than boys.
“Kids are building their vocabulary, and it just needs to start early,” Young said. “There is so much to be said about cuddling up with a book.”
Young said she knows that reading as early as possible is beneficial to kids.
“That is why I am doing this,” she said. “I love to read and I love kids, so I love to read to the kids. I find that soothes my soul.”
Young said she received a letter from a student in a class she reads to. The letter thanked her for reading to them. The writer told Young she enjoyed seeing her facial expressions as she read to the class and closed by saying ‘reading is awesome.’
“I am so excited about this program,” Boyd said. “What we are hoping is we will be able to do distributions at other schools as well. JRES and Coalton were selected because Kay already is a volunteer at those schools and she coordinates the program in those schools.”
Boyd said she is reading “Stuart Little” to one of the fourth-grade classes at Beverly Elementary.
“We are having a good time reading that book,” Boyd said. “Hopefully, we will get more people trained and get more readers in our schools. This is the first time we have completed a book distribution. Reading leads to successful in life. That is a proven fact.”
Members of the board of Read Aloud Randolph County include Boyd, Young, Cindy Stemple, Sue Talbott, Debbie Fincham, Moke Post, Judie Smith and Cary Hopwood. Recently, the group presented a public viewing in downtown Elkins of “Rocket Boys.”
New books will also be distributed to Coalton Elementary School students by Read Aloud Randolph County at 9 a.m. Nov. 10 during the school’s Veterans Day Program.