Summer reading program included in proposed budget

In an effort to combat a summer decline in reading skills, RCS is expecting to launch a summer reading program for students who struggle with the fundamentals of literacy.

The “Adventures in Reading” Program would serve 20 students entering the first and second grades at Pieter B. Coeymans and A.W. Becker elementary schools.

Funding for the program is included in the proposed $41.9 million budget going before voters on May 20. The program will last six weeks, but families will have an option of sending their student for either the first three-week session or second, three-week session.

“Educational research indicates that early intervention promotes student success. Over the summer, struggling readers who do not practice their reading at home actually enter the next grade level at reading level that is below where they left off the previous spring,” said Pieter B. Coeymans Elementary School Principal Elisabeth Smith.

Students would be recommended to the program by their teachers.