Last week, two literacy seminars were held in Tucker County to promote the new ReadAloud program at Tucker Valley and Davis Thomas Elementary Middle Schools.
Parents, local business leaders, retired teachers, grandparents, local librarians, and other professional staff attended the seminar to learn how to become an active reader at the schools.
During the two sessions volunteers learned that the average child hears 26 million words by the age of four but a child living in poverty hears only 13 million or half of the average child! This is such a big discrepancy that all in attendance have chosen to increase this number by volunteering each week to come in and read aloud to the students. They received first hand training in how to read with motivation, expression, and correct tone, to “act” as commercials for reading. Volunteers are hoping to bring a love of reading to the all the children in the county. Beginning September 2, volunteers and teachers will work together to formulate a time for each volunteer to come in and read. Each time, Tucker Valley volunteers come in to read, the children will receive a book to take home and will be encouraged to read themselves. By the end of the year we hope to have at least 10 or more books in their “at home” libraries. Mary Bond, Charleston’s ReadAloud President, was overwhelmed by the amount of support given in this county. She states, “There are good things happening here!”
If you or anyone in your family would like to help with Literacy improvement in Tucker County Schools there are several ways you can help: You can begin by recycling gently used books by dropping them off at each school, become a literacy volunteer (future training dates will be made available), donate time to your local library to read to a child, and/or encourage reading at home.
