LEAD2READ Needs You!

Want to know more about LEAD2READ and how to get involved? I recently responded to someone who asked me about our program and thought I would share my response here for anyone else who might be interested in mentoring. Please feel free to share news of our growing program! As one mentor recently said, "I'm enjoying this every bit as much as my student!"

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Thank you so much for your message and interest in LEAD2READ. We always welcome new mentors and would love to have you involved.

LEAD2READ is a reading program that matches community volunteers with Henderson County kindergarten-through-third grade students who read below grade level. Our goal is to have students reading at grade level by the time they enter fourth grade, which is critical for their success in school. We believe reading aloud with students is still one of the very best tools we have in education!

We ask our reading mentors to commit 30 minutes to one hour each week - during school day hours - to read aloud with a student (you work with the same student each week) and help him or her reach reading goals. In addition, we ask that our mentors be positive role models and encourage their students in school. LEAD2READ believes this valuable one-on-one time will boost reading levels, student confidence, and ultimately, student success in and out of the classroom. My conversations with current reading mentors are so heartwarming and encouraging; I am confident you will find this time well-spent.

It's easy to be a mentor. LEAD2READ mentors complete the same background check required of all Henderson County Schools volunteers. In addition, we ask our mentors to attend a brief training session, so we can answer any questions you have about the mentoring process. Don't worry; you do not have to be a certified teacher to be a reading mentor. Our goal with training is to make the volunteering process as seamless for you as possible. After you complete your training session, we work with the schools to match you with your student for some weekly reading fun!

Our two pilot programs for LEAD2READ this school year are at Spottsville and South Heights elementary schools, where we have had a great start! We are a growing program, and we plan to expand to additional Henderson County elementary schools in the 2012-13 school year.

Because the current school year is drawing to a close, I will offer various training and information sessions throughout the summer for the next school year. We have many Henderson County students who could benefit from time spent with a reading mentor, and we would love to have mentors ready for those children when school begins in the fall. If you would like to send me your email address (or phone number, if you prefer), I will gladly contact you about training this summer.

We also invite you to share news of LEAD2READ with other community members and organizations who might be interested in helping. I will gladly speak with any group, business or individual about our program. Anyone interested can email me at hendersonlead2read@gmail.com.

I hope I have answered your questions. Thank you so much for your interest. Together, we will improve our community one book at a time!

Jennifer Jenkins Reese
Volunteer Coordinator
LEAD2READ

Season's Readings!

In spite of the hustle and bustle, hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season with family and friends. While it might be difficult to carve out time to read during all the shopping, wrapping, baking and entertaining, we hope you have found a few quiet minutes to share stories with your little ones.

Curl up by the tree, sip some hot cocoa, open a book and enjoy an escape to the North Pole -- and all the other magical places books can take your child.

Speaking of books, I hope Clement C. Moore doesn't mind Lead 2 Read having a bit of fun with his classic, The Night Before Christmas:

Twas the night before Christmas
when all through the town,
great things were stirring
for Lead 2 Read plans abound!

The books were stacked
on the school shelves with care,
in hopes that reading mentors
soon would be there.


The children were nestled
all snug in their beds,
while visions of reading fun
danced in their heads.


Schools were out
for the holiday's sake,
as teachers and students enjoyed
their well-deserved break.


When out in Henderson
there arose such a clatter
I sprang from my office
to see what was the matter.


When what to my wondering eyes
should appear..
but reading mentors
dedicated to making a difference next year!

More rapid than eagles
the volunteers, they came
So excited to see them,
I called them by name:


Now, Scott! Now Andrea! Now Matt and and Melanie!
On, Brenda! On Kay! On Doug and Lindsey!
To Spottsville, to South Heights, to the schools you are called!
Now read away! read away! read away all!


So out to the schools
Our reading mentors flew
With books for our children
and encouragment, too.


Their eyes, how they twinkled!
Their smiles, how merry!
Their spirit, so generous,
For not just books, did they carry...

But knowledge, experience
And dedication to the cause
And the gift of their time
(Top that, Santa Claus!).

Students will benefit
As our mentors give back.
The gift of reading
tops any toy from St. Nick's sack.

We need volunteers in the schools
so give Lead 2 Read a whistle
You'll fly through training
like the down of thistle.


If you have 30 minutes each week
please consider our cause
You, too,
Can be much like jolly Santa Claus.

Enjoy your holidays
Season's Readings to all
And after the break
please give us a call!

Let Lead 2 Read exclaim
Ere we leave your sight
Happy Christmas to all,
And to all a good night!

Want to Be a Reading Mentor? It's as Easy as A-B-C!

Ask how you can get involved with Lead 2 Read! If you are willing to spend 30 minutes to an hour each week serving as a reading mentor to a Henderson elementary school student, we need you in our program. Students are eager for you to read with them and help them achieve their reading goals. After all, reading is the building block of learning! Contact us at hendersonlead2read@gmail.com.

Be present for an informational training session and complete a simple background check form (required of all volunteers within Henderson County Schools). The informal training sessions last approximately one hour and are scheduled at various times that are convenient for our reading mentors. We will share volunteer guidelines; review the Lead 2 Read process for participating schools; and answer any questions or concerns you have about mentoring. Sessions are designed to make working with Lead 2 Read an effective, rewarding process for everyone involved.

Commit to reading with a local student each week! Once you complete training and a background check, you will be matched with a local student to begin your reading adventures. We hope that you will meet  weekly throughout the school year and cheer your student on as he or she works to read at grade level -- and beyond! It truly is as simple as sharing books and encouragement along the way. Join Lead 2 Read, and you'll be A real hero Because you Cared!

Giving Thanks

As Thanksgiving approaches, we are reminded to be thankful for many things we hold dear in our lives: our families; our friends; our jobs; our homes; our country; our health.

I will add something new and special to my list of things to be thankful for this year: I am thankful for Lead 2 Read.

The more I learn about the importance of early reading intervention, the more enthusiastic I am about Lead 2 Read and its mission to foster literacy in the community by creating a network of reading mentors. These wonderful volunteers will commit 30 minutes a week to read with a student to boost reading skills to the appropriate levels.

Why is this so very vital to the community? A child's reading skills are critical for success in school, work and life.

Studies suggest that students who read below grade level are more likely to become frustrated learners who begin to fail in school. Unfortunately, students who fail are more inclined to become absentee students; drop out of school; contribute to juvenile delinquency; abuse drugs and alcohol; and are far less likely to obtain meaningful employment. This impacts everyone in a community.

But there is wonderful news! Thankfully, we have a powerful tool to reverse these troubling trends and help children become better, stronger readers and more confident, engaged students. And it really is as simple as reading with students. Open a book; change a life!

In spite of exciting new technology in the classroom, reading aloud with students is still considered one of THE most effective educational tools. Reading aloud helps students in a variety of ways: it builds concentration and critical thinking skills; stimulates curiosity; and encourages students to associate books with pleasure - making them more likely to become lifelong readers and learners.

It's so easy to volunteer (if you can read; you can lead!), and I am grateful for the community members who have signed up with Lead 2 Read so far. I also am thankful for the student I have the pleasure of reading with - and the smile on his face when we discuss stories and talk about his school goals.

If you can commit at least 30 minutes a week during the school day to read and work with a child on his or her reading goals, I would love to talk with you about our program. We offer informational training sessions at your convenience.

If you would like to make a positive difference in a child's life -  please contact me at hendersonlead2read@gmail.com

As you celebrate this wonderful time of year, please take a few moments to share a book with a child in your life. He or she will one day be thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving, and happy reading!

~Jennifer Jenkins Reese
Lead 2 Read Volunteer Coordinator

Lead 2 Read: Building a Better Community One Book at a Time

In I Can Read with My Eyes Shut, Dr. Seuss wrote, "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."

While reading is the key to learning, many young students do not read at grade level, leading to frustration and discontent as they progress through school. Sadly, some graduate from high school with literacy skills far below acceptable levels, or worse, drop out of high school altogether.

The result: some of our young adults are unable to qualify for meaningful, well-paying jobs, and our community faces enormous challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified employees and industry. The economic cost to the community and society is significant, but perhaps more devastating is the loss of potential among our youth.

Recognizing the need for students in the Henderson, Ky., community to develop a high level of literacy as they progress through the school system, the Raymond B. Preston Family Foundation has re-launched the Lead 2 Read literacy and mentoring program. Partnering with Henderson County Schools, Lead 2 Read matches community volunteers for one-on-one weekly reading sessions with elementary school students.

Our schools and teachers are doing a great job educating students, but the demands on educators today are significant. For that reason, Lead 2 Read organizers believe everyone will benefit when the community partners with schools to help students.

Why? Students with strong reading skills are more confident, perform better in the classroom and have improved attitudes toward school. Strong readers are far more likely to graduate from high school and attend college. A well-educated workforce will undoubtedly have a positive long-term impact on the community. It's a win-win-win-win-win situation, with significant benefits for students, their parents, schools, the community, and the volunteers!

One of the keys to building a strong readers is to intervene early and read aloud to children often. Until third grade, children are learning to read. After third grade, they are reading to learn, meaning their ability to learn depends heavily on how well they can read.

Various studies support the fact that children benefit and become better readers from listening to someone read aloud. That's why Lead 2 Read hopes to recruit an army of reading volunteers who will commit to reading with elementary school students weekly.

Lead 2 Read began in 2008 as a project of the Henderson Leadership Initiative. While it still has volunteers reading to students in the schools, Lead 2 Read plans to grow the program and is dedicated to making a long-term positive impact in Henderson.

To do that, Lead 2 Read needs reading mentors.

"Volunteers will definitely get as much out of this program as the children," said one volunteer, who watched his young reader evolve from a shy, timid student who lagged behind in school into a confident, young student. "It's incredibly rewarding!"

To find out how you or your business can become involved with Lead 2 Read, please contact us at hendersonlead2read@gmail.com.