Revamped program hopes to boost reading skills

Every other Thursday the halls of Fort Belvoir Elementary School echo with the voices of children reading aloud.

The reading is immediately followed by the encouraging comments of volunteers from Fort Belvoir’s Headquarters Battalion.

This process is part of the revamped Leaders as Readers program, which enlists volunteers from the battalion to come and listen to children in first through third grades read during individual, one-hour sessions.

On Nov. 16, during one of these sessions, Diego Everette, 7, discovered his favorite book, “Clever Fox” by Beverley Randell.

“I learned how to hide under water,” said the first grader cheerfully. “[You do it] by going under the water.”

The teachers nominate students each week to read out loud to the volunteers, beginning with the children that need a little extra help in the subject.

“Research shows the more practice reading [children] get, the more fluent they become,” said Linda Vinson, first grade teacher. “The more opportunities they have to read and re-read the more their reading will improve.”

During these sessions the volunteers take notes on where each child needs extra practice and the teacher compares her own observations to the notes.

“The goal is that eventually the kids will improve,” said Charlene Aldridge, volunteer and administrative assistant to the battalion commander, who also asks questions to determine if the child understands the story.

“We show them that we care,” said Aldridge. “Then they feel good about themselves.”

In the past the Headquarters Battalion volunteers would come to the school and read to the children as part of the Patriotic Reader program. However, the teachers found that children who were struggling in reading continued to struggle — in other words, there wasn’t a benefit to the program.

“The change is good because it’s a real need,” Aldridge said.” We’re there for those children that are struggling.”

The volunteers can also encourage children to read and enjoy it.

“[After the session] they feel successful, so they’re more apt to read on their own,” said Vinson.

Megan Hayth, 6, read three books during the session.

“I read a few books out loud to the Army person,” Megan said. “They asked questions and I learned to be a better reader.”

As the school year progresses the volunteers and teachers will work together to determine if there is an improvement in the students reading skills.

“[This is a way we can] reach out to them. It’s an outreach in education,” said Maj. Derryl Pooler, volunteer and battalion executive officer.