March 19, 2024

Reading program starting final summer in Newton

Assistance with skills will move to Marshalltown

A highly praised summer youth literacy skills program is about to begin its final summer in Newton.

This will be the ninth and final year Buena Vista University offers a two-week reading-skills program to about 40 Newton students, with the program relocating to Marshalltown for 2017. The program, which also allows instructors to receive credit toward a reading-teacher endorsement, has served dozens of Newton-area youth — some as much as four or five summers in a row.

The course will be held Monday through Friday for the first two weeks of August, beginning Aug. 1. The morning session has already been filled, but there are still a handful of spots open in the afternoon session, which runs from 2 to 3:30 p.m. The program is for readers entering the first through the sixth grades.

The charge for the program, held on the second floor of the DMACC-Newton building, is $10.

Even though there were about 40 students receiving help in the 2015 session, this will be the final year the program will be offered in Newton, according to Buena Vista University Director of Marketing & Communications Jennifer Felton.

“We have decided to consolidate our education programs that were previously offered in Newton and Iowa Falls to a centralized location in Marshalltown,” Felton said. “We made this decision in order to provide the best access to resources and the best learning experience for our students.

Bob Williams, who has helped coordinate the Newton program, said he really hopes the instructors can continue to help build reading skills, using a variety of technology and other innovative methods.

“We want to make this last year in Newton a really good one for the program,” Williams said, describing the range of books and materials used. “We expect 40 to 50 kids for these sessions.”

After an assessment on the first day, each student will work in a fairly age-specific group, with the younger students getting more visual instruction and the older groups doing more hands-on activities. Williams said instructors adjust as they go, based on needs.

“Students generally start out a little behind their grade level, but some actually start out above it, and they and/or their parents just want them to stay sharp,” Williams said. “But most make progress. We work with all reading levels. The ones who have come back year after year, we can really see their growth as readers.”

Students get to leave each day with a new book, chosen from a selection kept in a common area.

“The main thing is just to get books in their hands — books they actually choose to read,” Williams said. “This helps motivate them.”

Williams said since so many youth are involved sports and other activities in June and July, the timing of going over literacy skills right before the school year starts makes things easier on both students and teachers.

“It’s a great way to jump-start the year,” Williams said.

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