By Justin Schneider, Herald Bulletin Online Reporter/Manager
ANDERSON — Two local organizations are rising to meet the challenge of illiteracy.
On June 8, the Rise and Read summer reading program will get under way at the Urban League of Madison County. The curriculum was developed by Scholastic, and the Urban League will take advantage of the knowledge and experience of the Madison County Literacy Coalition.
Cassandra Day, director of literacy services for the Literacy Coalition, will conduct a daylong literacy program every Thursday at the Urban League, using four models for instruction: exploring books, word play, games and story time. The literacy coalition will also have tutors available every Tuesday and Wednesday at Anderson Public Library.
Jeff Cottrell of the Urban League said the controversy over school closings and personnel changes at Anderson Community Schools had distracted parents and staff from a growing problem.
“While we’re bickering, our children are still suffering,” Cottrell said. “Through our after-school program, we found that kids can’t read. That’s why our test scores are atrocious.”
Ginger Mills, executive director of the Madison County Literacy Coalition, said ACS scored 12 percent below the state average on the English language portion of the ISTEP test. The organization’s focus in since 1985 has been adult literacy, but a program targeting first-graders began in 2004 at Southview and Robinson elementary schools.
“We want to encourage them in a way that makes reading fun,” Mills said. “You probably remember a point in your life when you started reading books for pleasure. All of a sudden, books are fun and you started reading all kinds of stuff by choice. Kids who struggle with reading never get to that point.”
Mills said the Literacy Coalition derives 100 percent of its funding from grants, individual donations and civic organizations, and fundraising has only grown more difficult with the slowing economy. Mills is the sole full-time employee, working 30 hours a work, and she has four part-time staffers who work 10 hours apiece.
With Southview and Robinson elementaries set to close, the after-school literacy program is losing its home, but Cassandra Day hopes Rise and Read can provide an opportunity to reach more students.
“It’s a little disheartening,” Day said of the closings. “The goal is to expose children to books. They think reading is just for school.”
And Cottrell said commitment to the program would go beyond students to their parents, who have been asked to submit information about their child’s most recent school year and are required to attend six sessions on education-centric parenting by the end of the summer program.
“We have to find a way to get parents involved,” Cottrell said.
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Rising to the occasion
What: Rise and Read summer reading program
Where: Urban League of Madison County, 1210 W. 10th St. in Anderson
When: 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday beginning June 8 (lunch provided)
Cost: $25
To register: Contact the Urban League of Madison County at 649-7126 or the Madison County Literacy Coalition at 641-0117.
