Every Monday during Panther Time in Rachel Carson Middle School, every student in the school stops what they’re doing to start reading for the school’s new reading program, “Carson Kids Read.”
Carson Kids Read is a program made to support the school’s language arts goal to provide additional opportunities for students to read.
Allison Crutcher, the reading specialist at RCMS, said reading at a young age increases vocabulary.
“Reading really impacts the kids when they are young, like pre-k and kindergarten,” she said. “Reading to young children has the most benefit for the future since it correlates with their vocabulary. The more your vocabulary increases, there’s a connection to future success.”
Elizabeth Donovan, the school librarian, a very avid reader, thinks that students must love and enjoy reading.
“I want students to love reading and find books that they care about,” said Ms Donovan.
Carson’s Kids Read is not a new thing. In previous years the school has been trying to encourage kids to read consistently.
“The school was always trying to push silent sustained reading on and off for years,” said Ms Donovan.
Alex Lin, a seventh-grader on All-Stars, does not like to read during Carson Kids Read.
“I have better things to do, and I only like certain types of books,” said Alex Lin when asked about how he feels about Carson Kids Read.
However, Ms. Donovan said the library has books for everyone.
“Publishers are making books that reflect our students’ interest,” she said. “Publishers’ selections have gotten better over the years — an increased push on diversity.”
Jocelyn Goodwin, a seventh-grader on the Majestics team sees benefits too.
“It gets kids who don’t like to read to maybe get into reading,” said Jocelyn.
Ms. Donovan wants this program to help kids read not just in high school but also the foreseeable future.
Ms Donovan said, “I hope that we will keep reading for pleasure in high school. There is evidence out there that supports how essential reading is for success.”
