The post Set the Stage for Success appeared first on Better Basics.

Building student self confidence is a big part of each of the Better Basics programs.  When students believe they can achieve, it becomes easier for them to reach their goals.  Our Reading Intervention teachers do a wonderful job of becoming a booster for our students.  In addition to providing the children with research-based intervention methods to improve their reading skills, they are constantly reminding students that they can read better.  It is this combination of extra educational and emotional support that allows students to make great gains in their reading skills.

Recently, Mr. Head, a teacher at Avondale Elementary, stopped Better Basics Reading Intervention teacher Lucy Hood in the hallway at school.  He called over a student who had been working with Mrs. Hood all year.  Mr. Head prompted the student, “Tell Mrs. Hood what your reading grade was last semester.”

The student replied, “I had a D.”

“Tell her what you have now,” Mr. Hood continued.

“Now I have an A,” the young girl replied with pride.

I asked Mrs. Hood how she was able to make such a dramatic difference in a short period of time.  She said for this student, the issue was 90% self confidence and only 10% improvement in skills.  She said this student was afraid to even attempt to read big words but when the student was taught how to break large words into smaller pieces and then sound them out, she was able to read the large words with ease.

This week is teacher appreciation week. I’m sure we all have a teacher that we fondly remember.  For most of us, it is not because of the facts and skills that teacher instilled, it is instead that he or she was a great cheerleader and gave us the confidence to do our best.  Thank you to all those confidence-building teachers out there.  You are truly making a difference in the lives of children.

The post Boosting Confidence Boosts Grades appeared first on Better Basics.

Each year, the Better Basics staff looks forward to the annual Better Basics Awards Luncheon.  It takes three straight days of luncheons to celebrate with all of the top-achieving students in our programs.  Students who read the most books in the MORE program, wrote the winning essay for their school, made the most improvement in the Reading Intervention program, or stood out as STAR students at the HOPE Center are celebrated at a festive event attended by their parents, teachers, principals, volunteers, and other community supporters.

These luncheons are about much more than the chicken fingers and macaroni and cheese we serve.  They are about more than the clowns, storybook characters and entertainment.  We try hard to make these students feel special.   We know that for some of the children we serve, this may be a highlight of their school career.  When we see former award-winning students, without exception, they always mention how much they loved coming to the luncheon when they remind us of which award they won.  Making children feel special is important.  When children know that people believe in them and recognize them for their special achievements, they are inspired to work harder.

This year, I had an opportunity to talk to parents after the luncheons and ask them questions about the impact Better Basics’ programs have on their children.  I discovered something interesting. Christopher Lewis, a proud father, described to me how the programs really did make a difference in his daughter Zakira’s self-esteem.  He detailed how she meticulously selected her clothing for the luncheon, fixed her hair, and proudly called all of her relatives to tell them about her awards.  Then he said, “I have a secret to tell you.  It really improved my self-esteem, as well.”

He talked about how much it meant to his family that his daughter had been recognized for her efforts, how proud he and his wife were of her accomplishments.  He told me that they would continue to push and encourage Zakira to achieve. He said that by being a part of a Better Basics program, his daughter read more books and became a better student.

Parent after parent expressed the same sentiments.  They were all so proud of their children’s accomplishments and expected even greater things from their children in the future.  So do we, and the next time we see these students, I hope they, too, tell us how much they loved coming to the luncheon.

The post More Than Chicken Fingers appeared first on Better Basics.

This week, we invited three of our volunteers to share their thoughts with you.  The UAB students were asked to write about how they see lives changing through our programs and their work with children.  We thought they would tell us about our  students and their educational gains.  Instead we discovered that their lives are changing, as well.

Starting in September of 2012, the three of us, Margaret Lueck, Jonathan Pilgrim, and Jacob Maynard, began volunteering for the HOPE Center at Glen Oaks Elementary School.  We showed up a couple times a week, participated in activities, helped them with schoolwork, and worked on math and reading.  Over the months, we bonded and formed relationships that we will never forget.  Going into this volunteer experience, we just expected to help them with simple school subjects at an elementary level.  Although we have done our best to do that, they have taught us more than we ever imagined.  Jacob changed his medical career goals from orthopedics to pediatrics; Jonathan opened the possibility of working with kids in a business field, in an organization like Better Basics; Margaret found herself to be more patient, more able to work with people of all ages.  All of these growths in us have only been made possible through the growths we have seen in them. 

            Whether it is their reading levels or their attitudes about school, so many of the children have grown in ways we never expected.  Jacob consistently worked with a child who cried when he walked in because the student knew he had to actually do work.  In the last couple months of school, he read without being told, finished homework every day, and always had a smile on his face.  His individual improvement was such a blessing to witness and reminded us all of the growth that these kids can achieve and the potential that they all hold.

Jonathan worked with a fourth grade student who was unable to multiply a number by one; however, at the end of the year, he was working on long division and had reached the A/B honor roll. 

Margaret saw improvement in a child who refused to read because he was so embarrassed of his reading skills, whereas he read a whole book cover to cover just a few weeks ago.  These three students are not by any means the only ones who have improved, but they firmly display the improvements we saw in so many others.  Grades were raised, reading levels skyrocketed, attitudes were matured, and kids were made better students.  We hope we were able to teach them something, even if it was just a portion of what they taught us. We never expected to see them help us grow more than they grew themselves.

Sincerely,

Margaret Lueck, Jonathan Pilgrim, Jacob Maynard

The post Changing Lives appeared first on Better Basics.

When I was eight years old, my idea of playing outside was reading the latest “Babysitter’s Club” under my favorite tree.

I could always be found with a book in hand, engrossed in the latest adventures of Nancy Drew or dreaming of becoming a writer like Jo March in “Little Women.”

Books were my gateway to the great world beyond and they were plentiful in our home.

As an adult, I awoke to the reality that many children in our community have little or no access to books in their homes. The truth is that in homes struggling under the pressures of poverty, age-appropriate reading materials are a rare luxury.

In 2010, I participated in the first annual Birmingham Reads event with Better Basics. I ventured into Ms. Micken’s class at Wenonah Elementary to give away copies of “The Night Before Summer Vacation” and hear Jay Roberson encourage a room full of eight-year-old students to read.

The students were excited to meet their special guests and listened attentively as Jay read aloud.

I’ve read hundreds of books to children over the years, but this moment is sealed in my memory because of what happened next.

As Jay finished the book, a girl in the second row stood up, grabbed her book and then proceeded down the row collecting books from the other children.

“Here you go,” she said as she handed me the books.

“You get to keep your books,” I said. “You don’t have to give them back.”

She pulled the books to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, looking at me with a hesitant stare.

“I can keep it?” she asked as a grin crept across her face.

“Yes, that book is yours to keep,” I replied.

“For my very own?!” she exclaimed in delight as she hugged the books like the most precious of treasures.  She almost danced as she swept down the aisle redistributing the books to her classmates.

With her exclamation, I saw smiles sweep across the face of every child in the room.

These books were theirs to keep. For some students this was the first book they had ever owned.

When we complete the fourth annual Birmingham Reads project today, Better Basics will have distributed more than 54,000 books through this program alone since that day in 2010. When I get lost in the abstraction of numbers that large, I remember that moment in Ms. Micken’s class.  I remember the way that young girl hugged her book like a precious friend.

I remember how precious books were to me as a child and I marvel at the opportunity to be a part of a day that brings joy to so many children.

The post Birmingham Reads Brings Joy appeared first on Better Basics.

The Birmingham Reads Book Drive Challenge kicked off this week, and the event has proved to be a true win-win for our community.  Eleven schools from the Homewood, Hoover, Mountain Brook, Trussville, and Vestavia school systems, as well as one private school, are competing to bring in the most books.

Last year, the first year of the Birmingham Reads Book Drive Challenge, we weren’t quite sure what to expect.  Schools began to deliver the books they collected, and as box after box was unloaded, we realized what a tremendous event this had been for our community.  In all, we collected more than 28,000 books!

The books collected in the Birmingham Reads Book Drive Challenge were provided to at-risk students through Better Basics’ programs.  These programs are designed to help struggling readers and to provide books for children who may not have books of their own.

The book drive is also able to provide valuable lessons about helping others to the students at each school participating in the competition.  Susan McCall, a reading coach at Cherokee Bend Elementary, says the Birmingham Reads Book Drive Challenge is an opportunity for the children attending her school to recognize how blessed they are to be a part of a generous community.  “I visit each classroom to talk about the book drive with students,” says McCall.  “I ask the children how many books they have at home.  Then I ask them to look around in their classroom to realize how many books they have at school.  I tell them that not every child in our community has this.”

McCall continues, “The children understand that they are better readers because they have access to many books.  It makes them happy to know they are able to help other kids by donating their favorite books.”

The Birmingham Reads Book Drive Challenge continues through next Thursday, and we hope to bring in even more books than last year.  Through the generosity of children, the gift of reading will spread across our community.

The post Children Helping Children appeared first on Better Basics.

The Birmingham Reads project is always a little challenging to describe.  It is a joint project of Better Basics and the Junior League of Birmingham comprised of three separate components:  Birmingham Reads Day, The Birmingham Reads Book Drive Challenge, and the Birmingham Reads and Brookwood Celebrates event.  We are fortunate to have multiple title sponsors – Alabama’s 13, Colonial Brookwood Village, and Macy’s.  We also have multiple partner sponsors – Regions, Protective Life, Two Men and A Truck, and WDJC.

This project has a lot of moving parts and takes an entire committee working year-round to ensure a successful event.  However, the person who has to coordinate the most pieces is Kathleen Drake, the volunteer coordinator at Better Basics.

You see, Kathleen has to recruit and place more than 700 volunteers in classrooms at 30 Birmingham City Schools.  She has to coordinate the distribution of more than 14,000 books that will be given to students on Birmingham Reads Day. (That means ensuring that Mrs. Smith’s Kindergarten class of 17 students actually receives 17 kindergarten-level books instead of Mrs. Brown’s 20 fifth-grade books, etc.)

She has to recruit school captains for each school, train them to be prepared for any number of challenges that can arise on Birmingham Reads Day, and provide these captains with the materials they will need for the volunteers and the students at each school.  She trains runners, who must be even more prepared to deal with challenges on Birmingham Reads Day, so they will be ready to spring into action to help the school captain, if necessary.  It can be an exhausting and thankless job.   It requires long hours and sleepless nights.  Kathleen handles the task with grace and poise by keeping the mission of the project always in mind.

“I believe so strongly that literacy is the link to success for everybody,” says Drake.  “There is very little you can do if you cannot read.  You can’t hold a job, drive a car, or start a video game.  Birmingham Reads is so wonderful because it puts literacy front and center for this community.  It gives people who want to volunteer a chance to volunteer – and that’s everyone from high school students to judges, the mayor, TV personalities, and retirees.”

Drake continues, “Birmingham Reads offers the community a chance to come together and put literacy at the forefront, while sharing a common love of reading.”

The post Behind the Scenes with Birmingham Reads appeared first on Better Basics.

As we prepare for the 2012-13 Better Basics Awards Luncheons, the staff at Better Basics has delighted in reading the winning selections from our annual MORE Essay contest.  This week, we want to share with you the thoughts of some of our students.

Martez Deon Davis Jr. from Lewis Elementary wrote, “The reason I like MORE is because they gave us books that expanded our imaginations.  With an imagination, you can go anywhere in the world, do anything your mind can think of, and be anybody or anything you want to be.

MORE gave us books that helped us dream, and through dreams, anything is possible.  That’s why I love MORE!!”

Didn’t Martez express exactly what we want all students to understand?  Through hard work and following dreams, anything is possible.

We also love the cheer Diontia Wilson from West End Academy developed for our program.

“Give me an M, give me an O, give me an R, give me an E.  What does that spell?  MORE!

I love the MORE program because it gets me all excited about reading. MORE has inspired me to become a better reader, writer and speller.  My comprehension is much better now.  It’s true what they say, ‘The more you read, the more you know!’

You just can’t find a better deal anywhere in town because when you read more, you get MORE.  MORE books, MORE prizes and MORE knowledge! That’s exactly why I love the MORE program.”

Spring is such a joyful time around our office because we are able to see the results of the work done all year by our wonderful volunteers and teachers.  It is also great to see how much pride the children gain from their accomplishments.   We can’t wait to meet all our winning students at the luncheons in just a few short weeks.

The post The Joy of Spring appeared first on Better Basics.

Research from two large-scale studies revealed that effective reading teachers of elementary-age students shared several common characteristics, including the incorporation of varied reading-related activities into lessons, and the teacher’s ability to personally relate to students.

It is great to know that the bonds our students create each year with their Reading Intervention teacher will actually help the children become better readers.

Students love teachers like Belinda Thomas, who is the Better Basics Reading Intervention teacher at C. J. Donald Elementary in Fairfield this year.  Queen Martin, one of the Better Basics Reading Intervention coordinators, says the bond Ms. Thomas develops with her students helps build their self-esteem and encourages them to work hard.  “Belinda Thomas loves her students,” said Martin.  ”She tells them daily that she’s there to help them become the best readers that they can be.  She encourages them to persevere while doing difficult tasks.”

Third-grade student, Nakiyah Curley, said she loves Ms. Thomas because she shows kindness, and makes her reading intervention sessions exciting and joyful.

Nakiyah went on to say, “I love it when she helps us read The Greedy Goat.  Ms. Thomas is teaching me how to read and answer questions. She is a good teacher to help me with reading.”

Thanks to all the caring Reading Intervention teachers and the bonds they developed with their students, more than 240 children made great gains in their reading skills this year.

The post Bonding Builds Better Readers appeared first on Better Basics.

Spring is here, and over the next two weeks, the schools in our community will take a break.  Better Basics’ employees share their favorite book selections for reading to your children or grandchildren over the holiday.

Karen Kapp, Better Basics’ Executive Director says “My favorite book is The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf. It always warms my heart to read this to a class of students. It portrays the uniqueness of all of us!”

Reading Intervention program coordinator Queen Martin says her favorite book is Sometimes I Feel Like a Storm Cloud by Lezlie Evans. “So many times young children experience emotions that they are unable to express or describe to others. This book is a great way to help children explain the many emotions that they experience during their young lives by comparing them to things they are familiar with,” says Martin.

Miss Malarkey Leaves no Reader Behind by Judy Finchler and Kevin O’Malley is a favorite book of Scottie Vickery, Director of Enrichment Programs.  “It is about a little boy who hates to read but his teacher doesn’t stop trying to win him over until she finds the perfect book for him.  Many of the children we serve don’t like to read, or at least they think they don’t like to read.  By exposing them to all different kinds of books, we are able to help them fall in love with reading, ” Vickery says.

“My favorite book was A Pocket for Corduroy by Don Freeman. I loved my stuffed animals, so I liked reading about the adventures of Lisa and her bear, Corduroy,” said Aubrey Martin, Better Basics HOPE program teacher.

Carol Bonner, the Better Basics Summer Learning Specialist, says one of her favorite books is A Bad Case of the Stripes by David Shannon. “Through a series of outrageously hilarious events, Camilla Cream, who loves lima beans, learns that it is okay to be different from her friends,” says Bonner.

Candy Caldwell, a Better Basics administrative assistant, reminisces about one of her favorite books entitled Ladybug on the Move by Richard Fowler. “I remember racing to the bookshelf in my third-grade classroom to find this book so that I could re-live the adventure that filled each page. I didn’t just love the story; I loved the interactive aspect of it. I wasn’t reading about the ladybug, I was the ladybug too!”

Margaret Henricks, MORE program coordinator says she enjoys reading Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman because you can use your voice to build drama and suspense in the story as the baby bird searches for his mother.

These are a few suggestions to keep children reading.  Spend some quality time today with your favorite children and a good book!

The post Reading with the Better Basics Staff appeared first on Better Basics.