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NREVSD Celebrates a Successful Summer Reading Camp

This summer, 95 elementary-aged students from the New Richmond Exempted Village School District (NREVSD) participated in a six week long Summer Reading Camp Program. 

This summer, 95 elementary-aged students from the New Richmond Exempted Village School District (NREVSD) participated in a six week long Summer Reading Camp Program.

During the school year, the district uses Dynamic Indicator of Early Basic Literacy (DIBELS) to identify students from kindergarten through grade three who need extra attention in the category of reading. Program coordinator, Mrs. Mary Hatfield stated, “The reading program was designed to provide evidence-based reading instruction to those targeted students in a smaller setting to help insure their future reading success.”

With the instruction from 12 dedicated NREVSD teachers, students worked in groups and individually through a variety of research-based reading materials. These specific materials were used in effort to support targeted reading skills, such as phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, which are required to be a successful reader. Weekly progress was monitored as teachers tracked individual progress and altered instructional strategies as needed.

“Teachers are anxious to see student data each week and share student success. We are fortunate to have students who are happy to come to school and work hard for their success,” stated Hatfield. She would add of joy it is to see this learning and growing experience from her perspective saying, “There are very few task that are as importing or rewarding as teaching a child to read and that’s what we’re doing.”

Another person of impact throughout the course of the program was a special guest from our local New Richmond Branch of the Clermont County Library. Once a week, New Richmond Librarian and Branch Manager Amy Buskey, alongside Youth Services Specialists Kristine Brookover,visited our students.

“I would bring in various books to read the kids and the main goal was just to show them that reading can be fun,” Buskey stated. Continuing to show that reading can be fun, on her last visit of the summer, Buskey gifted each studentvwith a book and small prize of their choice. She stated, “These items were purchased by the library for this specific purpose - again showing kids that they can enjoy reading.”

In addition to Buskey, students celebrated the end of the summer by welcoming another very special guest. Dr. Amanda Hunt, an Associate Professor of Geology at University of Cincinnati, presented the students with an unforgettable presentation where students had a first hand encounter with raptor eggs, a megalodon tooth, dinosaur tracks on shale, mummified dinosaur skin, and more.

Whether it was seeing reading skills improve by two grade levels in some students, watching students develop a love for reading, or discovering a spark of curiosity in geology beyond Jurassic Park, NREVSD students walked away from this summer having experienced something special. The district is proud to have students willing to grow, teachers willing to challenge, and community members and organizations who are dedicated to giving back to our own.

Posted Friday, July 27, 2018