Teachers Instill Their Passion for Reading to Help Students Love it too

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., April 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- For one educator, creating strong reading habits among her students has become her passion. Academic Specialist Nancy Green, who teaches at Grand River Academy in Livonia, Mich., said when she was growing up, nobody really introduced her to reading.

"It wasn't until I was working on my undergrad (degree). I had two dynamic female professors that just opened my eyes," she said. "I made it my quest right from the start of my teaching career to really work with kids and build a reading program like no other."

Green, who is involved with intervention services at the school, one of 98 in the National Heritage Academies (NHA) network, just wants her students to read. "I know the research shows, reading is the root of it all. If you can be a successful reader, you have got the world in your hands."

This is the main reason Green organized a two-week March is Reading Month challenge, where 484 scholars tracked 135,529 minutes of reading, nearly 2,259 hours. Those students then turned their love of reading into funds, donated by family and friends, that will help them buy more books or participate in other special reading programs.

Across the country, students in Karsten Dommermuth's kindergarten class at Landmark Academy at Reunion in Commerce City, Co., practiced their reading skills with a special visitor on March 30. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis reversed roles having students read their favorite book to him.

Beginning in kindergarten, reading instruction focuses on creating building blocks – phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency, Dommermuth said, adding she hopes the reading experiences students have in her class help them engage in the joys of reading. "It plays an integral role in shaping their school life as well as at home."

Establishing a strong reading foundation is a key component NHA teachers use with students.

Cassie Blanchard is considered to be the unofficial book club president of Vanguard Charter Academy, Wyoming, Mich. If a scholar is looking for a book suggestion, the fourth-grade teacher, working at Vanguard since 2004, is the person to ask. If a student doesn't like reading, Blanchard will find a book that gets them hooked. Even if a scholar has given up on a book, she encourages them to push forward and find another author or genre that forges a lasting connection.

"I usually have kids who come back years later, who are either still in the building or even high school students who will say, 'Hey, I hated to read until I was in your class, and you got me hooked," Blanchard said. "That, to me, is way better than test scores."

About National Heritage Academies:
National Heritage Academies (NHA) is a network of 98 tuition-free, public charter schools across nine states, serving more than 60,000 students in kindergarten through 12^th grade. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.

SOURCE National Heritage Academies