By DON STINE
Parents and community members are being urged to participate in a $3.4 million comprehensive literacy improvement program being implemented in Asbury Park’s school district.
“We need a specific intervention to take place because three out of four of our students do not read at grade level,” said Sancha Gray, the school district’s director of curriculum and instruction.
Residents, especially parents, were invited to the first annual Parent Literacy Conference held at the Middle School Sat., May 30. The event is a kick off the district’s new $3.4 million initiative to improve literacy and reading skills in the district.
Gray said literacy levels in the district have been a concern and well-documented through historically low test scores.
“We are looking at a systematic approach to address these deficiencies. We need to bring students up to grade level” she said.
The district-wide program is co-sponsored by Scholastic. Scholastic Corporation is a U.S. publisher and education and media company known for publishing, selling, and distributing books and educational materials for schools, teachers, parents, and children. The company is the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books and a leader in educational technology and children’s media.
Scholastic also publishes educational technology programs: READ 180, MATH 180 and SYSTEM 44.
Clifford, the Big Red Dog, serves as the mascot for Scholastic.
“Scholastic will give us the tools we need at all levels under this comprehensive plan,” Gray said.
She said that Scholastic is under a four-year contract and that Asbury Park is the first school district in New Jersey to embrace such a comprehensive literacy program.
“I am optimistic that there will be a turnaround in the district. We will not get this overnight but we will see trending towards more positive results,” she said.
The program effects all grade levels, including pre-school, as well as parents.
“We need to attack this problem from every angle and I urge parents to get involved. We need all hands on deck for this collective effort,” Gray said.
Those at Saturday’s event were invited to attend special classrooms seminars that simulated exactly what the student experiences.
The YMCA, Prevention First, The Boys and Girls Club of Monmouth County, the local Chamber of Commerce, Interfaith Neighbors, and the local Citizens Action Committee were among the many exhibitors at the conference.
A number of keynote speakers also gave presentations.
“As a school district, we are trying to engage the parents and give them additional tools and strategies to help educate their children,” Schools Superintendent Lamont Repollet said.
