Firemen, island administrators, senators’ aides, attorneys and other assorted professionals came to St. Croix’s Evelyn Williams Elementary School Tuesday to engage students in books by reading with them.
"We hope seeing different political and professional people reading and encouraging them to read will help instill in the children a sense of how important literacy is for their futures and get them more into reading," said Sheryl Carr, literacy coach at Evelyn Williams.
Carr, who had the inspiration for the reading day, spearheaded its planning and arrangements.
Some of the professionals who volunteered their time gave away pencil sets and other school-oriented knick knacks. First Lady Cecile deJongh gave away copies of the books she read to two classes. With teacher Carol Carty’s fourth-grade class, she read portions of Judy Blume’s "Double Fudge."
"We are just trying to get them to read as much as possible," she said. “It’s important for us as parents, teachers, and community members to encourage the benefits of reading, especially amongst youth."
DeJongh read the first chapter herself, then asked the children to each read one page aloud. Occasionally a child would pause, momentarily stuck by a somewhat troublesome word for a fourth-grader, for example, "hygienist." DeJongh would quietly say the word once, then the child would repeat it and continue.
After everyone in the class got their turn, some of the children asked her to autograph their new copies of "Double Fudge," and everyone gathered for a group photo. Then it was off to Jonell Johnson’s fifth-grade class for a reading of "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins.
Also reading with students were Aesha Duval from Delegate Donna Christensen’s office, V.I. senatorial aides Lillian Aloyo and Stephanie Nelson, St. Croix Administrator Dodson James, radio personality Abdul Ali, an array of folks from the V.I. Water and Power Authority and many others. "Literacy is probably the most important skill affecting children and their future success in life," said Evelyn Williams Principal Anastasia Jackson. "We are hoping the more exposure they have to successful role models reading and emphasizing the importance of reading, the more they will want to read."
This is the first time the school has held such a reading day, but Carr and Jackson said they hope to have more like it in the future.
