Annual literacy night will be Wednesday at Audubon

Michele Bell and Courtney Barchi are busy cutting out pictures of Dr. Seuss, sorting books and making final preparations for Family Literacy Night at Audubon Elementary School. The annual event will be from 6 to 8 p.m., Wednesday in the school gym, 2020 W. Carlisle Ave.

Bell, 22, and Barchi, 21, are AmeriCorps volunteers working as coordinators for Washington Reading Corps at Audubon.

“I believe our family literacy nights are a good way of showing how much the WRC does for elementary students of Spokane. This is the year that all the schools with the WRC will have to reapply for the grant, which may not even be in the state budget this year,” said Bell. They won’t know the future of the program until June.

Former Gov. Gary Locke, Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson and the state Legislature created WRC in 1998 to provide tutoring for kindergarten through sixth-graders who need help with reading. WRC is a collaboration of schools, families, community members and businesses.

Success in school is dependent on good reading skills. “Studies have shown that if students can’t read well by the third grade, they’ll continue to fall behind in school. We need to help them improve their reading before this happens,” said Bell.

More than 400 students, siblings and parents are expected to attend Family Literacy Night. Guest readers will be on hand, snacks will be provided and the gym will be filled with games and activities. Each child in kindergarten through sixth grade will leave with a free age-appropriate book provided through a “Page Ahead” grant.

Audubon Elementary provides tutoring for students through fourth grade. Students are tested before and after tutoring to document improvement. Teachers recommend students for the program, and community volunteers work with Bell and Barchi to assist students with reading comprehension, vocabulary and whatever else the teachers recommends. Audubon also offers an after-school WRC program, open to all students, with no required testing. Students can enjoy snacks while working with volunteer tutors.

Stevens Elementary on the North Side, Sheridan Elementary on the South Side and Pratt Elementary in Spokane Valley also offer the WRC program.

Bell said there is always a need for more volunteer tutors, even if they can only help one hour a week.

For information about the WRC program, or to volunteer, call Michelle Bell at 354-2186.