By the Herald editorial staff
You've seen the new bikes around town, on display in public venues, bright and shiny and the very thing to catch a youngster's interest.
These bikes are the payoffs in a thoughtful program by the Kennewick Masonic Lodge to encourage grade-school children to learn to enjoy reading.
It's called Books for Bikes.
For the 2009-10 school year, the Masons are supporting seven Kennewick schools: Hawthorne, Finley, Eastgate, Washington, Westgate, Amistad and Vista, plus both Kennewick public libraries.
For each book a student reads, he or she is allowed to put an entry slip into a drawing. The more books a student reads, the more entries that student will have. The school then holds a drawing at the end of the term. Some 56 bicycles have been given out in the past three years.
This neat project costs money, and the Masons are having a fundraiser -- a $50 dinner and silent auction -- starting at
6 p.m. Saturday at the Tri-City Country Club.
For more information, call 582-2993 or 735-4625.
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Kennewick levy: Yes
Kennewick levy: Yes
Elementary students in the Kennewick School District have been very successful in reading! Last year, 90 percent of our third grade students were reading at or above grade level at the end of the school year. Across the nation this is a great accomplishment! This accomplishment is a foundation for even more success as children move from elementary school into middle school and high school.
Our district has created this success with good teachers, good reading programs and good teacher training, all of which are partially funded with levy dollars. As a homeowner in Kennewick, I consider levy dollars an investment for our future.
This year's levy is a replacement, not a new tax. It is a levy for 2013-14 and maintains current operation levels. Please vote yes on the Kennewick School District 2012 levy election and invest in our future!
Focus on reading spells success for Kennewick
Focus on reading spells success for Kennewick
As superintendent of Kennewick schools, I feel compelled to respond to the Sept. 25 In Focus. It was a classic example of taking data points out of context, which was misleading to the reader. The main argument posed was that since 7th grade reading scores have declined in Kennewick over the past four years, having a goal that students read on grade level is a failed policy.
To begin, readers might be interested to learn that Kennewick 10th-graders have exceeded state averages in reading for ten consecutive years and in writing for eight of ten. We certainly look at checkpoints, like seventh-grade reading scores, but we are most interested in the results students get when the test they are taking is a graduation requirement, and they exert their very best effort.
But, let's take a look at those seventh-grade reading scores locally and across the state. Since 2007, every Mid-Columbia district along with the entire state has seen their seventh-grade reading scores drop, in some cases dramatically. Does
How novels get into Tri-City classrooms
How novels get into Tri-City classrooms
Richland school officials have grappled with book controversies three times in the past year - while nobody seems to complain about novels elsewhere in the Tri-Cities.
Last month, the Richland School Board voted to pull The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian , an acclaimed young-adult novel by Sherman Alexie, from the classroom. It has since reversed its decision after the public blasted the board.
The campaign season might reignite the discussion - one of the challengers in the upcoming school board election is part of the book selection process and another challenger has said he is running because he opposes the incumbent's liberal stance on books.
Literature expands minds
Literature expands minds
In response to Aug. 14 articles about how novels get into Tri-City classrooms:
Richland School District's changing policy on literature is concerning. Students are not helped by being sheltered from controversial literature.
I was lucky to have read books such as To Kill a Mockingbird and S pite Fences in my English class at Richland High. These books and others are valuable and necessary. Despite the controversy, I enjoyed reading them. I felt older and wiser through the class discussions and individual assignments that challenged me and other students to express opinions. This is what teachers are meant to do. My teacher that year trusted the students to have the maturity to read these books.
Team Read seeks volunteer tutors
Team Read seeks volunteer tutors
Team Read, a program of The Children's Reading Foundation of the Mid-Columbia, is looking for volunteers to work as reading tutors with first-, second- and third-graders in the Kennewick School District.
The minimum commitment is two 30-minute tutoring sessions a week with one student throughout the school year. Bilingual and substitute tutors also are needed. Training is provided and volunteers are fully supported in their efforts to help struggling readers.
Volunteers have been as young as 16 and well over 80 years old.
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