Literacy Is a Family Affair

As President Clinton begins to focus on literacy in this country, I anticipate reading reports by “experts” and tuning in to many panel discussions on C-SPAN and the networks. But while all of this is taking place, thousands of America’s children will continue to be nonreaders. And thousands of adults will be satisfied with simply knowing that there are conversations going on about the problem.

I have as much confidence in the commitment and passion of nonexperts as our government seems to have in experts.

I believe that stimulating and engaging parents is the key to addressing the immediate problem of extremely low reading scores in Los Angeles-area schools. I have recently witnessed what a difference a small group of dedicated parents can make. It has reconfirmed my belief in the power of one.

Elaine Sherman is the mother of a second-grader at Van Gogh Street Elementary School in Granada Hills. As a member of the PTA, she aired her concerns over the state’s low reading scores. She also expressed her willingness as a parent to do whatever is necessary to ensure much better results this year.

Van Gogh, a LEARN school where all the stakeholders are told their voices will be heard and welcomed, encouraged Sherman to offer a concrete solution to the reading problem. She did. Within weeks, Sherman had developed what she called “March Into Books.”

The program began during March and included the entire school. The kickoff was inviting parents and teachers to an evening with Jim Trelease, author of “The Read-Aloud Handbook,” who travels the country speaking about the importance of reading to children. Other activities for the month included:

* Guest readers: Actors, librarians and principals were invited in to read stories to each grade.

* Reading buddies: Upper-division children were paired with lower-division kids to share books and ideas.

* Used-book exchanges: Students were urged to read a book recommended by friends. Each class held a used-book exchange in which children brought in up to three books they had read and traded them for books owned by someone else.

* Book report raffle: Children had an opportunity to become Siskel and Ebert by reading a book and giving it a thumbs-up or -down. Raffle tickets were given out for each book read and reported on. At a book party held in each class, prizes were awarded to winners drawn from the raffle and to the person who had read the most books.

* Library card program: Each child who brought in his or her library card was given a raffle ticket for the drawing at the end of the month. If a child did not have a public library card, he or she was given an application. Once the new card had been received, the child received a raffle ticket.

* The finale was the “Character Parade”: Children dressed up as favorite characters from the books read, then each class paraded around the school to show off the costumes and allow others to guess the characters and their books.

Sherman was joined by many parents who took time out of their workdays to support this important and fun effort. Mothers and fathers were there to not only photograph their little darlings and run cookies and punch, but to show their commitment to education and reading in particular.

The children loved it--and it seems to have had a positive effect.

My son Cody, 7, turned in 10 book reports and my daughter Kelsey, 9, completed 23 books, all in March. Because of the evening with Trelease, I read about 10 books to the children and two for myself. Stanley, my husband, read three or four books to the children and one for himself.

Teachers also were enthusiastic. Pamela Flait, who teaches fifth grade, described the project as one of the most exciting in which she had participated.

The school’s principal, Maureen Diekmann, was also an enthusiastic participant and supporter.

Those of us who advocate parental involvement in education have no standardized test scores or other “proof” that this particular program has improved reading skills.

But common sense tells us that getting children to read, and especially getting them to enjoy it, will have a huge impact on their lives. Many of us consider Sherman’s idea a stroke of brilliance that is certain to reap rewards.

We are so certain that we are looking at making it a year-round project, and Sherman has offered to coordinate the effort in the new school year. I am confident that it will get our school’s Governance Council’s approval. She certainly has my vote.