Rotarian Joanne Cohn; Aliza Wyman, SBES Librarian; Valerie Young, SBES Principal; Jess Emery, SBES Instructional Coach; Linda Soutier, Friend of Rotary
The Bridgton-Lake Region Rotary Club has been awarded a grant of $4000 to support childhood literacy at Stevens Brook Elementary School. The local Club itself will contribute another $500 to the project. This generous grant was from Rotary District 7780, which encompasses 39 Rotary Clubs in southern Maine and coastal New Hampshire.
All of the funds will be used to purchase books for classroom teaching and the school library. Perhaps more importantly, Rotarians and community volunteers will work to help third and fourth grade classroom teachers during literacy classes. Jess Emery, Literacy Instructional Coach for the Stevens Brook Elementary School, said, “It is the current third and fourth graders who were most affected by the loss of classroom teaching during the Covid pandemic. They lost a full year in the classroom and then were disadvantaged by the masking that was required once school resumed. The masks prevented the children from seeing the teachers’ lips in literacy classes and made listening more difficult.”
The Bridgton-Lake Region Rotary Club is enthusiastic to have this opportunity to help promote a lasting positive change in the academic lives of these young readers. Children who struggle with reading will have difficulty in all their classes. The long-term consequences of poor literacy include a significant decrease in school performance and an increased rate of school dropout.
To succeed, Rotary needs community members who are able to commit to a regular weekly schedule of 2-3 hours as classroom volunteers or be available as a substitute when necessary. The volunteers’ schedule will follow the school’s calendar year. Rotarian Joanne Cohn, who is the Bridgton-Lake Region Rotary lead on this project, remarked, “This is a serious time commitment but promises to be very rewarding. No teaching experience or literacy training is required, just a love of reading that you will share with children.” For more information about this project, please contact Joanne Cohn at joanne.cohn643@gmail.com or call 617-306-1956.
The Bridgton-Lake Region Rotary Club is committed to service and seeks to support projects in the community. Many of the local projects are an outgrowth of members' dreams to make a difference in the region. Some projects are generated by partners. “If you have a project and you’re looking for resources to implement it, contact your local Rotary Club”, said Dr. Lisa Ryan, President of Bridgton Rotary. “We may be as interested in such a project as well. Reach out to us at LakeRegionRotary@gmail.com.”
