Port Richmond: Reading Toward a Better Future

With summer officially here, students are saying goodbye to homework and uncomfortable desks and looking forward to three months of freedom. But while they give learning a break for the summer, one school-related responsibility still looms—summer reading. Some students enjoy spending parts of their vacation with a book in hand, but most would rather pass the time with friends, riding bikes to the park or watching television. In fact, a lack of interest in reading is very common among Port Richmond students, especially at the middle school and high school levels.

Reading patterns amongst the Port Richmond youth can be seen by researching Pennsylvania System of School Assessment test scores, visiting the library or even simply taking a stroll in Campbell Square. It is not uncommon to overhear a student gossiping with friends and making fun of another friend for being a “nerd” because he or she likes to read. Many argue that school curricula are to blame for a low interest in reading and PSSA reading scores.

In 2009 Charles Carroll High School’s PSSA reading average dropped from roughly 35 percent to 20 percent. The district average for 2009 was almost 40 percent. At John Paul Jones Middle School the fifth-grade reading score was 16 percent and the 6th grade score was just under 10 percent. The seventh-grade average score was 30 percent and the 8th grade score was just under 40 percent.

To prepare for the PSSA tests, Carroll turns to a plan that gives students structured PSSA practice, while also trying to get them excited to do well, says principal Joyce Hoog. Carroll has a PSSA Committee, which is formed by staff members and 10 students who are committed to doing well and encouraging their peers to do the same. The PSSA Committee holds rallies leading up to the test, where it provides fellow students with food, entertainment and speeches.

But while pep rallies may work for some, students still seem disinterested in doing well. “They didn’t get me excited about it,” says 21-year-old Carroll graduate Tim Fasarakis. Fasarakis is among the many high school students and graduates who remain indifferent toward reading and the programs that their schools offer. “Public schools, they don’t make reading fun,” he adds.

A librarian poses another problem that results. “Teens are really hard to get into the library,” says Peggy Pompey from the Richmond Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia. Even though PSSA prep has a short-term goal in mind when it comes to getting students excited about reading, the Richmond branch also has programming to encourage children and teens to read. Pompey says that the older teens are particularly hard to reach and if they do visit the library, it’s only to use the computer. “They come in to use the computer,” she says. “And then they’re pretty much gone.”

To draw more teens into the library, librarians have come up with clever ways to reach them by accommodating their interests. The Free Library has purchased equipment like Nintendo Wii gaming consoles and popular games like Dance Dance Revolution. The Richmond Branch will sometimes host DDR parties and provide food. “Any time we can get something with food, that seems like that might have a better chance of working,” says Pompey. “Some of the librarians come up with really creative ideas to get them in,” she adds. But the real challenge is getting them to leave book in hand. “It’s always the readers who come into the library,” says Richmond branch manager Gerald Franklin.

Officer Dennis McGuigan, who is assigned to Richmond Elementary School, feels that struggles with reading can start at a young age and are hard to over come as kids get older. “If you fall behind in third grade, you get to the seventh grade and you’re reading at a forth grade level…you never catch up,” he says. To combat this, Richmond focuses much of its attention on making sure that students are reading.

Richmond students participate in the 100 Book Challenge. The 100 Book Challenge encourages students to read 100 books in a program that assesses their reading skills and accommodates for them. Teachers then reward students with a medal and certificate, says Teresa Jones. Four of her children go to Richmond and are active readers. “The reading program seems to be pretty good,” she says.

Jones also takes her children’s reading educations in her own hands outside of school. On top of programs like the 100 Book Challenge, she has them read for story time every day and then talk about the story to make sure that the comprehension is there. “For the most part they enjoy it,” she says. “I love to read, so I definitely want that to be instilled in them.”

Fellow Richmond Elementary School parent, Sally DeAngelis, also stays ever involved in her son, Benjamin’s reading. She says that her 10-year-old son reads a minimum of a half-hour a day outside of class and is already starting chapter books. “I’m the highest person in the class,” says Benjamin DeAngelis. He adds that his mother is letting him start reading Harry Potter novels this summer.

It is that kind of parent involvement that seems to be the key to keeping the neighborhood kids with their noses stuck in books. McGuigan stays very active in student life at Richmond, observing the students and even reading once a week to an autistic class. “I always tell kids that reading will bring them places, where the mind wants to take you,” he says. McGuigan also feels that urban blight is a large contributing factor in student reading habits. “It’s a struggle. There’s no family continuity. There’s no structure,” he says. “I know kids who are seven or eight, waking themselves up for school,” says McGuigan. “Do you think anyone is reading to them at night?”

More parent involvement in student reading is not the only solution. Schools and student resources play a large role as well. Carroll has been hard at work looking for solutions to raise interest in student reading. The school offers Corrective Reading and Achieve3000, a web-based reading program. They also “have a program where all teachers adopt reading anchors to imbed reading strategies into their curriculum,” says Hoog.

In addition to enrichment programs, the school has purchased over $12,000 worth of young adult literature that will be housed in a mobile library. To accompany this, staff are working on a website that will allow students to post reviews about the books that they read. Hoog says that the new “literacy initiative” will have a big kick-start next year with a “booksellers convention” to be created by the students.

The Free Library of Philadelphia also accompanies the Port Richmond schools in their literacy mission. “That’s why we go into the schools and have the talks with the students,” says Franklin. It all comes down to the three institutions (family, schools and libraries) to join forces in fostering book-loving young individuals. It’s not just about the PSSAs, but also the well being of the students and promising futures. “Reading is an activity that leads to better education and chances for better careers,” says Franklin.