Posted: 3:53 p.m.Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015

Mentor reading program underway in Middletown schools

By Rick McCrabb

Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — 

    About 100 community members gatheredTuesday to read to Wildwood Elementary Schoolstudents as part of the district’s MENTORead Program, said Carolyn Mack,director of staff development.

    The goal, she said, was to “develop goodreaders” by having the students listen as books are read to them in smallgroups for one hour. This Middletown City School District project was introduced at the district’sbusiness partner meeting late last year.

    It’s important for young students to learn“what a good reader sounds like,” Mack said.     She said reading expands students’vocabulary even if they don’t understand the words.

    Mack said after the reading program, eachstudent will receive one free book. She hopes as the students return to theirclasses, they will share what they learned with their classmates. She said 95percent of what people learn they hear from someone else.

    In October, Mack, a member of the DaytonChapter of Links, a women’s organization, participated in a volunteer readingprogram at Madison Park Elementary Schoolin the Trotwood-Madison School District. Since itwas the organization’s 65th anniversary, the members pumped $65,000 back intothe community and held a reading program that attracted 55 volunteers readers,10 short of the goal.

    Mack addressed a group of community andbusiness leaders in December asking them to participate in a similar program inthe Middletowndistrict. Her goal is to have 100 volunteers read to kindergartners, first- andsecond-graders on Tuesday. She called the response from community volunteersand business partners “overwhelming.”

    Superintendent Sam Ison said the programwill create relationships with students and demonstrate to them that “readingis a priority.” He said some students in the district don’t have anyone readingto them outside the classroom.

    He called reading “the foundation behindeverything that we do. Readingleads to writing, which leads to everything creative that we do.”

    Anyone interested in participating in theprogram is asked to call Gracie Gregory, administrative secretary, at513-423-0781, ext. 2665.

 This is a good thing...