The new school year is upon us, bringing with it a fresh start, new goals and aspirations, and new opportunities to learn. Not just for our children, but for all of us.
Teachers have reassessed and are excited to try some new ideas while maintaining those methods that are tried and true. Students come to the next level with a clean slate, ready and excited to continue their learning. Parents, sometimes a bit anxious, look forward to their student’s success with a spirit of cooperation with their school administration and teachers. Because in order to have true cooperation, we must all work together.
The most fundamental marker for a child’s future success in life, both academically and professionally, is the ability to read. To quote Dr. Seuss, “The more you read, the more things you know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
The connection between reading, knowledge and opportunities is profound. But how do we ensure that our children acquire this most critical skill? National test scores show that at least 40% of fourth graders are struggling to read at even basic levels. Our test scores in Cape May County support that statistic, which leads us to ask, what can we do to improve our children’s reading skills?
———-
The most fundamental marker for a child’s future success in life both
academically and professionally is the ability to read.
———-
A February 2025 article in American Public Media highlighted the Steubenville, Ohio, public schools’ unprecedented success in reading. Written by Emily Hanford, Kate Martin and Carmela Guaglianone, the article presents an unlikely scenario for such a feat. Nationally, test scores and income are closely linked, with lower household incomes generally leading to lower reading scores.
Not so in Steubenville. With a median income in the city of less than $42,000 a year, almost every one of Steubenville’s students is considered to be “economically disadvantaged,” with nearly 80% of them receiving free or reduced-price lunches. Even with all of this, between 93% and 100% of the district’s third graders have scored proficient on reading tests every year since 2008.
When asked how they overcame such adversity and achieved such success, several strategies seem to be responsible for the positive outcome.
*A subsidized pre-K program allows nearly 80% of Steubenville’s children to attend preschool, which costs just $100 per month for full-day classes and is free for the poorest families. The program begins at age 3, and teachers encourage students to talk in complete sentences, which helps them later when they start to learn to read and write. Nationwide, fewer than half of children attend a preschool program.
*Attendance is enforced by motivating students to come to school. If you don’t come to school, you don’t learn. If a child is considered chronically absent, missing school 10% of the time or more, a rapid response team is assigned to solve the problem.
*Small reading classes are created by having all the students in Steubenville’s elementary schools have reading class at the same time. That allows students to be grouped with others at the same reading level – even if they’re in a different grade. By doing this, they have some reading classes with as few as six children. The key to having small reading classes is that every teacher in the school leads one.
*Kids who need extra help get one-on-one tutoring in addition to the daily 90-minute reading class. The tutors include staff, community volunteers and local high school and college students.
*Through cooperative learning, students are also given time to just practice their reading. Establishing time for sustained silent reading is also beneficial.
*Finally, Steubenville has been consistently using the same reading program for 25 years. It’s called Success for All, and it seems to be working.
So, what can parents do to help their child learn to read? First and foremost, become knowledgeable about your child’s reading program, and work cooperatively with the teachers and the school.
There are also some techniques that you can use at home to enhance your child’s reading journey. One technique is to have interactive and repeated read-alouds. Parents read books aloud using great expression in order to model fluent reading and develop an interest in storytelling. While reading to your child, point to the words and pictures to reinforce awareness and vocabulary. Have your child join in with repetitive phrases and rhyming words.
Most importantly, model an interest in reading within your family by taking time to read, talking with your child and availing yourselves of the wonderful library system that we have in Cape May County. Reading well is critical to success throughout your child’s academic career. Learn to read, then read to learn.
I would love to hear from you about your district’s reading program and how effective it is. If you don’t know what your school’s state reading scores are, ask for them. Find out if your district prioritizes literacy at all levels. Together, we can create great readers, better learners and a more educated population. Here’s to a great new beginning of the school year!
