Wascher Elementary’s current kindergarten and first grade students will get special deliveries from their teachers this summer. The students will receive customized packets of books and other resources in three mailings funded by the McMinnville Area Community Foundation.
The mailings will include
- Four guided reading books at the student’s independent reading level
- One picture book for adult reading to child
- Encouraging note from their teacher
- Sight word flash cards
- Parent letter on how to support reading at home
- Reading log to be turned in for a prize
“Early reading skills are fragile as they develop,” said Wascher Principal Kourtney Ferrua. “We hope to minimize the traditional summer reading loss by giving families an extra boost of both books and motivation.”
One of the keys to the program is including books that meet the child’s reading level, based on classroom assessments by the teacher. The teachers also write individualized notes for each packet that build on their relationships with the children and encourage them to keep reading during the vacation months.
Summer reading loss is a well-documented phenomenon that can adversely affect long-term student achievement. Students who begin the year on track are more likely to stay on course on throughout the school year and build on the skills they have already acquired.