News Briefs

Summer reading program boosts literacy

PITTSFORD—On Monday, July 17, Maclure Library, Pittsford Recreation Summer Camp, and Lothrop Elementary School teamed up to treat the children of Pittsford to a storytelling presentation and brand-new books to keep, thanks to a grant from the Children’s Literacy Foundation (CLiF.)

Duncan McDougall led an interactive presentation for 62 children and their families. At the end of the presentation, each child selected two new books to keep from hundreds of titles.

CLiF awards Summer Readers grants to organizations serving kids at high risk of experiencing a “summer slide” in literacy skills. Research shows that children who don’t read over summer vacation tend to lose literacy skills, while children who do read improve their reading abilities. Low-income children and youth often experience greater summer learning losses than their peers.

“I am excited for what this means for the children of Pittsford,” said Bonnie Stewart, Maclure Library’s director. “The Children’s Literacy Foundation grant fits perfectly into our summer reading program and our community’s goal to keep our children reading throughout the summer. Thanks to CLiF, Maclure has received the Summer Readers Grant four times, the Rural Library Grant two times, and two visits from Vermont authors/illustrators.”

The goal of the summer reading program is to provide rewards, incentives, and encouragement throughout the program based on individual reading goals.

Photo courtesy of Maclure Library

Students get a look at some of the books at the Maclure Library last week.

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