School gets students and community reading

JAMES ISLAND, SC – It’s a new chapter on improving community literacy. James Island Charter High is leading with reading by getting students, teachers, and community members involved.

You could hear the roar of laughter from JICHS gym. Author and comedian Kathy Buckley gave a standup routine at the school, after hundreds of students read her book from the school’s summer reading list.

“Most of us wouldn’t read a book over the summer if we didn’t have to. It really made us read over the summer more than we would normally,” junior Natalie Torres said.

The “James Island Reads” program is now in its second year. The book list included alternatives to what students read in class, to spark interest in reading.

“It wasn’t like American literature; it’s kind of boring when you read over and over. This is something different we actually learned from,” senior Mary Freeman said.

This group read a book called “Uglies.”

“It’s a good book for teenagers, being comfortable with yourself and not wanting to change yourself it’s a good lesson,” junior Gabrielle Werthan said.

Each student chose one of five books they wanted read over the summer and then come back to school to discuss it. The school also offered the books to parents, teachers, staffers, and they even dropped off some books at area business for the community to read.

“That way anybody in the community that might be stopping in could see what we are doing here at the high school and take a book with them and read,” media specialist Melanie Crumpton said. “It might encourage more reading, which of course would lead to better comprehension in classrooms and out in the real world.”

The group book discussions touched students on a personal level, with subjects they relate to like beauty, bullying, and teamwork.

The James Island Reads program is getting students and the community on the same page of improving literacy.

The books are offered to the students and community for free, paid for with grant money and donations.

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