LINCOLN HEIGHTS -- In a quiet Lincoln Heights Elementary School reading room -- filled with pictures of Winnie the Pooh and Clifford the Big Red Dog -- Sandra Thompson mingles words with colorful images to help children read. For children in primary grades without a firm grasp of reading, the shift from "learning to read" to "reading to learn" can be a bumpy one.
So this summer, Princeton City Schools will offer a reading - writing workshop to help young students who are struggling to reach their potential.
"It is critical before a child exits the third grade that they read at grade level," said Sandra Berg, district instructional programs coordinator. "As they enter the fourth grade, the curriculum changes in that you are reading to learn and not learning to read." The district has about 200 elementary students who are reading below their grade level. This is the first time the district has offered a summer program targeted to children in primary grades with reading deficiencies.
The workshop will incorporate reading aloud, inventive spelling and other techniques to excite children to read.
The reader's - writer's workshops will be at Heritage Hill and Woodlawn Elementaries. Lincoln Heights will offer language arts, mathematics and science as the focus.
"Reading is the basis for all their subjects, and if they can't read, their whole education suffers. It is very important for them to have those skills, and it helps with their self-esteem by letting them be able to participate in class along with everyone else," said Patti Stewart, elementary supervisor for Norwood City Schools. Reading skills transcend the four walls of a school classroom, educators say.
"Students will use those skills for the rest of their lives. To keep an ever-changing job, it is imperative that all children learn to read and read well," said Mike Ross, curriculum consultant for the Warren County Educational Service Center, which provides consulting for the Little Miami, Waynesville, Kings and Carlisle school districts.
"So much of course materials in other subject areas depend on the written word, and even though we are moving toward electronic and multimedia presentations, the written word still directs the curriculum," Mr. Ross said.
Years ago, educators at Lincoln Heights began including the needs of students in the lower grades when addressing reading deficiencies among students.
"Once a child has learned beginning sounds or words, they can fly," said Mrs. Thompson, a reading specialist. "That's why we hit so hard at the younger ages."
To make reading more of an adventure for her students, Mrs. Thompson keeps stuffed animals -- characters from her books -- around her room. "When they read a story, they have something to hold," Mrs. Thompson said.
Many of the children who come to the school don't have a lot of experience reading. "We have young mothers and grandmothers taking care of grandchildren and working who don't have a chance to read to children," Mrs. Thompson said.
So when they come to school, the children may already be behind. "They need to understand the relationship between sounds and letters, so they can sound out words," Mrs. Thompson said. "They need to realize words have meanings and need to use different clues to get to words."
The focus is not just on the students. Parents play a role through programs such as reading nights, when children and parents read together.
For students who view summer vacation as time off from learning and may never crack a book during the break, summer programs like the reading - writing workshop are vital.
"That's the purpose: to keep them motivated, to keep them moving, to get them where they need to be," Mrs. Thompson said.
Only children who live in Lincoln Heights and Woodlawn will be able to attend classes at those sites. Everyone else will attend Heritage Hill Elementary.
The cost for residents in Princeton School District is $25 per session with a sliding scale for children who qualify for economic relief and a provision for multiple children in the family. Non-residents will attend Heritage Hill Elementary and pay $130 per term.
The summer school sessions will be June 9 to Aug. 7 at Heritage Hill; June 9 to Aug. 15 at Lincoln Heights, and June 9 to Aug. 14 at Woodlawn Elementary. Home school districts provide transportation. For more information, please call those schools or the district office at 771-8560.
Enquirer contributor Kerry Marsh contributed to this report.
