After school reading program holds open house in Lanett
BY JOHN BRICE
THE LAFAYETTE SUN
LANETT — Students and their families were welcomed to an open house event for a new after school reading program in the Valley Plaza shopping center in Lanett on Monday.
Organized by the Impact Learning Academy and located in the same facility occupied by the Destiny Harvest Church, students from kindergarten through third grade had the opportunity to meet with educators and learn about the new program. Academy Director Latika C. Spencer shared details of the educational project that is available to the community.
“This is something that we felt was a need for the community because a lot of students, especially in the Lanett area, struggle with reading — . primarily K through three,” Spencer said. “I am a reading coach in the Chambers County school system and reading has been my passion. I have been an educator for over 20 years.”
Spencer provided details of the program’s unique structure.
“We are hoping that someday it will evolve into something bigger than this,” she said. “Right now our primary focus is our after school program. Monday through Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m. We will work with phonics, [a] learning to read [method.] We will also be doing reading comprehension. We will start off like normal, we will have snacks; We will have STEM; We will have what we call a brain break. After that brain break, we will go directly into reading instruction.”
Evolving needs in reading instruction was also a topic that Spencer discussed.
“Reading is so important,” she said. “When we review, for example, expository reading, informational texts, those skills are important. What about putting a bike together? What about reading an employee manual? Those are the types of skills you need to be able to do in adulthood. It's not just about your favorite book.
“For example, reading a Bible,” Spencer continued. “That is informational text for me. When I go through and read that, I am looking for key components. I am looking for names. When you are reading informational texts you have got to read it over and over again to get the full idea of what it is.”
Spencer said reading is a critical life skill.
“Reading is not something that you just do all the way up to high school,” she said. “It is something that you are going to need for the rest of your life. Even when you go to college, you are doing research papers. You are writing. There are so many things that you have to do to be a successful adult. We need to be strong readers so that we can be great leaders.”
Spencer said she is teaching children how to evaluate the credibility of what they are reading online.
“Anybody can put something on Google,” Spencer said. “What we are teaching our children now is to [how] make sure what they are reading is truth and not opinion. Even when they are little, we are teaching them they need to check to make sure the information is factual.”
Spencer concluded by emphasizing the importance of taking the right approach to reading instruction.
“Studies show that the smaller the group, the more intense and the more hands on you can be as a teacher, especially when a child is struggling with reading,” she said. “The smaller the group, the more effective.”
