Sumac inspires a love of reading

BOOKWORMS- Sumac Elementary School students get lost in their books during the school's book fair. Money collected from the fair will help buy books for the school library. For every dollar raised, Scholastic Books will donate a book to a disadvantaged child. The Sumac Elementary School Parent Faculty Association joined forces with Scholastic Inc. on the evening of Dec. 5 to combat illiteracy and instill the love of reading in young people.

The PFA hosted a Family Night during a weeklong book fair to encourage parents to bring their children and select books to fire up their imaginations. Students were also given the opportunity to aid families who may not be able to afford books.

"Sumac has worked with Scholastic (to put on the book fairs) since the beginning of time because we believe they have the best programs to help both the school and the community," said Johnna Hazlett, organizer of the parent event.

Scholastic offers many programs that contribute a portion of company profits back to schools and charities that distribute books to children in need. A program called "One for the Books" encourages kids to help both their school and less fortunate children by bringing loose change to their classrooms all week.

All the money collected goes to buy books for the school library, and for each dollar the school has raised, Scholastic donates a book to a disadvantaged child.

"Last year, all those buckets of change raised $1,161 for the library, and Scholastic donated 1,161 books to the children," said PFA president Debby Pattiz.

In a country where 22 percent of the adult population ranks as below basic in literacy assessment tests administered by the U.S. Department of Education, additional access to books is good news.

One simple way to impart the love of literature to children and also increase their cognitive skills is to read to them. The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study in 1998 found that children who were read to more than three times a week had mastered the letter-sound relationship of words before they entered kindergarten, compared to the 64 percent who were read to less often.

And in a world where the attainment of a higher degree of education translates to a higher paycheck, kids could use all the good guidance they could get.

"Reading is a lifestyle," said Pattiz of her favorite family moments, ". . . when all four of us climb into bed together with our books, and we're all reading four different books."

"Reading and learning is something that children are more likely to do if they see their parents doing it," added Sumac Principal Carol Martino.

Some kids already get it. Family Night crawled with children who wanted to share their love of the written word with their peers.

"Reading can take you on adventures," said 9-year-old Micaleen Rodgers, who volunteered at the fair with her mom.

"Family Night is great!" said 8-year-old Jacob Polidi. "It's great to have so many people here because the parents get to mingle and so do the kids!"

And while Jacob mingled with his friends, his father, volunteer Danny Polidi, was busy reading to children at the "Chill Out" zone created for kids to hang out with their favorite books.

The elder Polidi confessed he loves to read to his own kids in "different voices," thereby fostering within them a magical fantasy world that he believes is important for healthy children. "It's one of the things we lose when we grow up," Polidi lamented, "one of those things we wish we could hang onto."

Final numbers were not yet available, but this year's book fair profits exceeded last year's, Hazlett said. Last year the school sold $11,000 in goods, $800 of which Sumac received as credit toward books for classrooms. The PFA received a percentage of the profits in cash, which it used to cover costs not paid by government funding, such as specialists to teach students music and computer skills.

The next book fair is scheduled for April 14, but parents may still contribute money to the "One for the Books" challenge until Fri., Dec. 21.