Easton
Beach: Newport Public Library Children's Librarian Rowena Burke (left) reads
aloud to children in SOAR (Summer Adventures in Reading), a program of the
Volunteers in Newport Education, as SOAR coordinator (right) looks on.
Newport Public Library Summer Reading 2000:
Chill Out at the Library
A total of 534 children participated: 75 directly through the Library (which was under construction, but had an active summer reading program page on the Web), and 475 through preschools, a shelter, summer day camps, and special needs programs. Attendance at 27 programs (including lapsit, toddler, preschool, elementary, family and other) totaled 791.
Quote from the August report: "A major benefit of
continued collaboration to support reading outside of school hours, was that for
the first year, through the Safe Schools Grant the Newport Public Schools
allocated funding to provide training in reading support and in pre/post testing
to groups selected from RFPs. . . . Head of Children's Services, Kathy Ryan,
provided an overview of the program and resources and incentives available
through support from Newport Public Library, the Office of State Library
Services, RI McDonalds Restaurants, RI READS, and local organizations and
merchants.
"Special thanks to all supporters and their staffs! It's been a
wonderful summer. Newport reads!!!"
Newport Families First report, Feb 2, 2001
Safe Schools/Healthy Students, a three-year, $2.7 million grant to the Newport Public Schools, involved the Newport Public Library and its partners in work toward desired outcomes.
- Child Well-Being
Outcome: Every child comes to school ready to learn.
Indicators and Benchmarks include literacy for child and family and an increased number of parenting programs aimed at getting children ready for school - Educational Success
Outcome: All youth graduate prepared for further education or a career.
Indicators and Benchmarks include Summer Literacy Programs and a three-week Early Start Summer Reading Program.
Summer Reading Helps: The Numbers
Newport Public Schools reading staff trained 18 summer-recreational staff in the Slosson Reading Assessment, and 267 participating students were pre- and post-tested. Summer Literacy Program sites included the Martin Luther King Center, the Newport Boys & Girls Club, the Salvation Army, the Sullivan School Family Center, and six V.I.N.E./Newport Public Library sites. Six sites (two that met once or twice a week, and four that met daily) were visited. The sites all had designated reading and literacy activities (including art, music, writing, editing, and silent reading); the average length of daily reading activities was 1 hour and 44 minutes. The 267 children posted an average gain of .45 -- measurable evidence that participation in summer reading activities helps children improve reading skills over the summer, rather than losing them.
(Why is this such an exciting step? There is all too little research to support the value of summer reading programs and other library services for young people. Check out Virginia Walter, "The Once and Future Library: Ten Ways to Create Libraries That Will Meet the Needs of Tomorrow's Children," School Library Journal 47 (Jan. 2001): 48-53.)
Thirty-nine 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade students, identified as at-risk for reading, received three hours a day of intensive small group work in reading and writing with eight specially-trained teachers. A parent satisfaction survey showed that 95% of parents surveyed thought the program had a positive effect on their child, and 75% thought their children had become better readers as a result.