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.
Read a SMART story: The Lasagna Specialists, Reading: Like Sticking Your Hand in a Pot of Glue, SMART Year-Round for Roseburg Kids.
Veteran SMART coordinator Gina Grote handles the year-round SMART program at Central Douglas Family YMCA in Roseburg. Her roster includes 23 pre-kindergartners and 16 dedicated volunteer readers.
With a toothless smile, a participating pre-kindergartner named Nadia said, "I feel so happy at SMART. I like to read to two people. That way if I don't know a word I can ask."
Research indicates that the earlier the intervention, the better chance a child has for success. Thus, the SMART pre-k pilot program was born. It started in 2006 at the Central Douglas County Family YMCA and Patrick Elementary in Gold Hill and has grown to five sites throughout the state.
With an early start, kids learn not just to read but to love reading. Debbie McKellar, YMCA Child Care Director, agrees, ”I always thought SMART should be serving younger kids. That one-on-one help at the preschool level is invaluable. I love the pre-k program!”
In April, SMART shifted the site coordinator role from a paid to a volunteer position. Debbie was determined to keep SMART so decided to incorporate it into the daily responsibilities of her staff. But she didn’t stop there.
Debbie and Kathy Henderson, SMART Area Manager, took it one step further and extended SMART’s service into the summer, making it a year-round reading program. Both agree that the partnership directly benefits the children of Douglas County, while also supporting the child care values of the YMCA.
Lori Ashcraft, YMCA Assistant Childcare Director, said, “When [parents] found out the SMART program would be carried through the summer they were delighted - knowing their kids are getting something extra special. And the kids love it, too. They even want to go to SMART in lieu of recess.”
SMART’s pre-k program at the YMCA is going into its third year, and is becoming one of the fastest growing SMART sites in Douglas County.
Gina coordinated the SMART program at two Douglas County schools for five years, before accepting a job at the YMCA. When SMART approached the YMCA about the pre-k pilot, Gina was a natural fit to coordinate the program.
She is thrilled to deliver SMART year-round. Many of her team of volunteer readers are members of the YMCA. She said, “The younger [kids] love all the extra attention and our adults feel they’re doing even more to help kids.”
SMART serves 650 children at 19 sites in Douglas County, and hopes to serve even more pre-k kids in the future.
Learn more about becoming a SMART site coordinator, or sign up today to read with kids in the 2008-09 school year!
Donate online and support the SMART program in your county.
-- Posted 8 August 2008
When SMART volunteer reader Erica Harris first met Matt at Crooked River Elementary in Prineville, he was quick to tell her, “I don’t like reading.”
Erica, who will be starting her third year reading with SMART this October, remembers, “Matt spent our first few reading sessions wiggling or laying his head on the table as I read to him.”
Erica remained patient, however, and kept encouraging Matt’s reading for the next six weeks. “If you don’t want to read, I can bring you back to your class,” she would offer gently to make him more comfortable.
He replied, “I want to be where you are.”
A bond had developed, but Matt still wiggled impatiently through sessions.
“The day he asked me, 'can we read that book again?',” said Erica, “I knew he had become a reader.”
This spring, the Crook County community came out for SMART and little readers like Matt in a big way. At the 14th annual international Kids Day America event sponsored locally by Dr. Coby Hanes and the Hanes Chiropractic Wellness Center, Crook County citizens, businesses and civic organizations raised $4,500—bringing the three year total raised for SMART this event to $12,000.
“There are so many other programs we could choose to donate to,” said Dr. Hanes. “But SMART gets at the root of the problem—which is illiteracy.”
He believes that if you look at the socio-economic status of people who require the most public assistance, you will see a much larger percent who are illiterate. By giving the gift of literacy to young children through SMART in Crook County schools, Dr. Hanes feels he is enabling children to move up in life.
“When I read a great book, I think of it as sticking my hand in a pot of glue—a little bit sticks with me forever,” according to Hanes. “When a SMART reader sits down with a great book and a young reader, they are helping that child dip into their own pot of glue, helping them learn forever.”
-- Posted 8 August 2008
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!
-- Posted 8 July 2008
To protect student identity, names and details have been changed.