SMART partners with hundreds of schools statewide to deliver proven literacy support to K-3 children. Participating children also receive new books each month to keep and read with their families. Our vision is an Oregon where every child can read and is empowered to succeed.
By Terry Shanley, SMART CEO
In the 2007-08 school year I had the privilege of reading with a very bright and clever second grade girl named Sidney. She read with such enthusiasm and inflection, and always with a bright smile on her face, except when she came across a dreaded, unknown word like "lasagna", or "specialists".
In our first reading session, when she saw one of these unknowns, Sidney would quickly mumble through it to the next known word. She would apologize later for mispronunciation.
I reminded her that students were here to learn new things like unfamiliar words, and her eyes sparkled with renewed confidence. Sidney was glad to know she was doing her job by learning new things.
In a later session she selected Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham – but in Spanish. Unbeknownst to me Sidney could read and speak two languages! She delighted in the fact that she knew a language I did not.
On the last SMART day of the school year, Sidney seemed preoccupied with the time, saying she did not want SMART to end. I assured her that the skills she developed over the past several months would continue to improve if she read through the summer.
When the site coordinator gave us our “five minute warning”, Sidney put her head down and read faster and more furiously than before. I suspect she thought time would slow down if she continued to read, and that the SMART session would not end.
Those last few minutes were some of the most precious. My experience with Sidney was like reading a wonderful book—we were both reluctant to turn the last page.
By reading aloud and for fun, Sidney grew immensely as a reader this year.
In 2007-08 SMART was able to provide 10,316 Oregon children with literacy support and 159,628 new books. A total of 8,332 volunteers donated a cumulative 170,080 hours to help these children become confident readers and productive citizens.
You can make a difference in a child’s life. Help us Start Making A Reader Today!
To protect student identity, names and details have been changed.
-- Posted 8 July 2008
INSPIRING BY EXAMPLE
If you peek into a SMART reading session, you may see volunteers and kids making all kinds of faces.
Every week for seven months, our volunteer readers spend an hour reading with two kids for 30 minutes each. We make sound effects, funny faces, and use all sorts of strange voices—all in an effort to inspire kids to love to read.
Take Sam (whose named has been changed). He moved to Portland from Romania at the start of the school year and understood very little English. He began participating in SMART in March. Thanks to the enthusiasm of his volunteer, who unabashedly made animal sounds and found creative ways to help him learn the names of animals in the book The Mitten, he has made great progress in his reading development after just a short time in the program. When it came time to choose a book to keep, he jumped at the chance to take home The Mitten, which he carried with great pride back to his classroom.
As the year progresses, the bond between student and volunteer grows. Weekly, one-on-one attention from a caring adult allows the child to gain confidence in his or her reading abilities. The child carries that confidence beyond SMART and into the classroom. Studies show that SMART students are 60% more likely to reach state reading benchmarks.
Talk to someone about SMART it’s likely they volunteer, or know someone who does. As volunteer readers, we face similar challenges with struggling readers, and similar triumphs when they overcome those challenges.
To the 9,000 volunteer readers throughout Oregon, thank you for all you do in support of children's literacy.
Together, we are building brighter futures for Oregonians big and small.
Want to volunteer for the 2008-09 school year? Sign up today!
-- Posted 1 May 2008