A FAMILY AFFAIR

Parent involvement, as most anyone in public education will attest, is critical to skill development. Sometimes educators try to get parents to the school for events; most of the time, teachers encourage parents to work on skills with their children.

At least once a year, Newton Community School District educators do both.

Family Literacy Night was held in early December at campuses across Newton, including Berg Elementary School. The event is aimed at keeping parents involved with the importance of reading, and how literacy skills need to continue to grow among children of all grade and ability levels — especially over the two-week winter break.

“There are some families that have much better parent involvement than others,” said Brenda Newell, one of the reading teachers at Berg Elementary. “Kids usually get excited about new books, but it often takes support at home to make reading a regular thing.”

Each Newton elementary school occasionally gets to host a regular board meeting, and Berg Principal Jolene Comer focused her school’s January visit from the board on Family Literacy Night. Four reading teachers at the kindergaten-through-third-grade school talked about how well the event went, and how much positive feedback they received from parents.

“Each elementary building had a Literacy Night this year, but we each targeted the evening to our specific grade levels and parent/student needs,” Comer said. “ We received extremely positive feedback on the event. Parents mentioned that they and their children had a lot of fun and appreciated being able to take home ideas, games, and resources that they could use to support their child’s reading at home.”

Computer applications that can be used on tablets and on other devices have become a major part of reading instruction in schools.

“Our integration of iPads into literacy instruction has been an advantage to increase student engagement and motivation. Many of our reluctant readers are excited to be able to listen to a book, create a story, or play learning games on an iPad.”

In addition to different stations throughout the school, there were snacks, games and a Kindle giveaway to draw families to the event.

Another teacher, who is part of the team Comer calls her “Fab Four” reading teachers, JoAnne Price, said the family event brought out parents don’t normally see at the school, and the teachers helped parents download about 400 apps for reading programs.

“It’s all about what they take home, and if they make time at home to use it,” Price said. “Studies show that parents who work with their children on skills at home tend to be the most successful.”

Newell said the literacy nights are planned by classroom teachers. “The timing is done with winter break in mind,” Newell said. “It’s intended to help build some reading resources for the break.”

Comer said technology is not simply a supplement to reading on student’s take-home devices, but also for teachers. Berg teachers and others use McGraw-Hill’s Reading Wonders and other programs to work on aspects such as reading comprehension, spelling word sorts, reading for evidence and simple phonics.

“These resources are definitely a huge advantage for both students and teachers,” Comer said.

Reading teacher Lora Caves told the board about a book-bag take-home program and a book exchange where older students donate books they’ve “outgrown” for the younger students to read. Comer said once students and families both grasp the magic of reading — the places it can take them, both within their minds and in everyday life — students bound upward on the lifelong journey of the written word.

“Our biggest challenge is getting students to read at home and see the value and love of reading — both in school, and in the home,” Comer said. “We strive to work hand-in-hand with parents to overcome this barrier.”

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com