Raceland-Worthington Student Rises Above Reading Goal
By Pamela Hall
Ashland Beacon
Reading, ‘Riting, and ‘Rithmatic! Those are the “Three R’s” that are considered basic things one must learn in school. All are important, but there seems to be an emphasis lately on reading, especially in the elementary grades.
The Accelerated Reader program (AR) is a computer-based program used by schools all over the country for students up to seventh grade. It has been of tremendous value in helping students achieve better reading skills. The program has a list of book titles at different reading levels for students to read at their own pace. Each book has a point value for the level of difficulty. Once the book is read, students take a short quiz. If they pass the quiz, they earn points that go toward their individualized goal. This helps the students to work toward improving their reading skills.
Campbell Elementary, in the Raceland-Worthington Independent Schools District, reached a milestone this year in the Accelerated Reader program. For the first time, a student exceeded 500 points in the program. What is so amazing about that is the student is in the second grade!
Irelyn Williams is an eight-year-old Campbell Elementary student who loves to read. Last year, as a first grader, she led the school with the most AR points. This year, she led the school yet again and exceeded 526 points! It doesn’t hurt that Irelyn’s mother is a teacher. In fact, she teaches 7th grade Reading at Wurtland Middle School. However, Ms. Williams insists that she is not the cause of Irelyn’s reading skills.
“Once she learned to read, she just took off,” Ms. Williams said. “She just does it on her own because she loves to read.”
“I read to keep from getting bored,” Irelyn said.
Ms. Williams gives a lot of credit to Irelyn’s teacher, Susan Justice, and the principal, Lisa Farley, for the success of the AR program at Campbell Elementary.
“Mrs. Farley is great to encourage and motivate students with prizes, rewards, and celebrations throughout the year as students work toward their goal,” Ms. Williams acknowledged. “Mrs. Justice prioritizes reading in her classroom and provides students with time in class for them to read and test.”
“Mrs. Justice has extra things for us, too,” Irelyn agreed, “like stickers and parties.”
One of the rewards that Irelyn earned was a field trip to the Columbus Zoo. She and a host of other students, who also earned the trip, spent the day there recently. The trip was special to Irelyn for another reason as well.
“I love to read anything about animals,” Irelyn said. “And I like biographies, too. I spend a lot of time in the non-fiction section.”
“Mrs. Justice turned Irelyn on to Judy Blume and E. B. White books this year through her reading groups,” Ms. Williams noted, “which I really appreciated because those were some of the same books I read as a child that Irelyn and I can talk about.”
As an avid reader, Irelyn suggested several series that other students her age might enjoy. They are the ones she particularly liked.
“I really loved the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and other graphic novels,” Irelyn said. “I like Zoe’s Rescue Zoo books and Rainbow Magic Fairies.”
The Board of Education of the Raceland-Worthington Independent Schools recently honored Irelyn for her achievement of exceeding 500 AR points. It was a moment that would make any parent proud, but especially a reading teacher.
“I’m obviously very proud of her hard work,” Ms. Williams said, “but I’m much happier that she loves to read and has found so many books and authors she loves, regardless of the tests and points. That’s a win!”
Congratulations to Irelyn Williams for all of her hard work and achievements. Keep on reading and learning those “Three R’s.”