BRIDGTON — The most basic of skills – reading – is the fundamental skill that all children need to succeed in school and in life. Yet many children, regardless of intellectual ability or family income, have difficulty reading and will struggle with every course in school.
The Bridgton-Lake Region Rotary Club is hoping to make a difference by teaming up with Stevens Brook Elementary School to support striving readers. The Rotary Club was awarded a $4500 grant by the larger Rotary District to provide specialized classroom reading materials and new books for the school library. But more books aren’t the answer unless the children can read them, so the Rotary Club is recruiting Rotarians and community members to give children in the third and fourth grades an extra opportunity to practice reading.
Jessica Emery, the Literacy Instructor for SBES, is thrilled with the additional new classroom books. “These are all high-interest books that the children will want to read.” The classroom teachers, Mrs. Lepage, Ms. White, Ms. Demarest, and Mrs. Staples select reading material, provide guidance to the volunteers, and encourage the children’s participation.
On Oct. 24, Justin Ward, co-owner of Bridgton Books, delivered the first of $2,250 in new books for the school’s library. The deep discount that Bridgton Books offers non-profit organizations allowed Aliza Wyman, the school librarian, to get the most out of the grant budget.
The program started on Oct. 15 and will continue for the rest of the academic year. The children and the volunteers are enjoying working together and both are learning something new. Valerie Young, SBES Principal, said, “It’s exciting to see the readers working with the students and to see all the children’s smiles. We are grateful that Rotary thought of us.”
Dr. Lisa Ryan, President of Bridgton-Lake Region Rotary Club, remarked, “As a pediatrician, I see children every day and know that reading adds to their health and wellbeing. Our Rotary Club is so excited about this project.”
For more information on Bridgton-Lake Region Rotary’s literacy project at SBES, please contact Joanne Cohn at [email protected] or call 617-306-1956. For information about other projects at the local club, go to https://lakeregionrotary.com or see its Facebook Page. For other questions, contact [email protected].