Rotary Happenings: Island Rotarians learn about Books for Kids Program
The pandemic has had many different effects on many different people. One of the effects that has not yet been measured is the impact it has had on literacy within the school systems. Recently, Ted Lindenberg with the Books for Kids Program shared with the Sanibel-Captiva Rotary Club information about how the program is helping students with literacy.
In a national assessment of educational progress, the federal gold standard of fourth-grade testing across the country, two-thirds of the students tested were found to be not proficient in reading. The gap between high performing and low performing students is increasing. In recent fourth-grade testing for Florida students, 44 percent of the students tested were found to be non proficient in reading. Within Lee County in 2019, about 46 percent of the students by the end of the third grade were reading below grade level. Now with the pandemic, it has been predicted that there is a possible loss of one-third to a full year of academic growth. The Books for Kids Program aims to help these children.
The Books for Kids Program is a district multi-club grant, with 10 clubs participating, that would like additional clubs to join. The organization officially started in 2014 with three volunteers handing out 60 books per month. Today, it has 120 volunteers helping 2,800 children in 11 schools in two counties, with 20,000 books distributed this past year. This school year, during the pandemic, Books for Kids continued to distribute books, with the delivery going directly to the schools and streamed live reading into classes. The aim of the program is to help children with reading comprehension skills, vocabulary, listening comprehension skills, character development and critical thinking. Middle-income neighborhoods have roughly 13 books per child. Lower-income neighborhoods have roughly 300 children per book. With the Books for Kids Program, each child receives a book of their own.
The Sanibel-Captiva Rotary Club holds a meeting on Fridays at 7:30 a.m. at the Dunes Golf and Tennis Club, at 949 Sand Castle Road, Sanibel, and via Zoom. To attend in person, email Bill Harkey at William.Harkey@gmail.com; attendance is limited to 20 people. To take part via Zoom, call 239-472-7257. For more information, visit sanibelrotary.org or www.facebook.com/sancaprotary.