Literacy a 'ticket out of poverty'

from the Calgary Herald

by Graeme Morton

For Dariel Bateman, helping students improve their reading skills goes beyond improved grades and an enhanced enjoyment of leisure time.

"I passionately believe that literacy is the most reliable ticket out of poverty," says Bateman, executive director of Calgary Reads, one of five agencies which will benefit from this year's Canwest Raise-a-Reader campaign.

Volunteers will take to downtown Calgary streets early Wednesday morning, offering copies of the Herald in exchange for donations to support local literacy agencies as part of the 2008 Calgary Herald Raise-A-Reader campaign.

The national Canwest campaign has raised more than $10 million for literacy programs in the past seven years while $659,000 has been raised locally for city programs.

Calgary Reads was launched in 1998 as an initiative to help youngsters in Grade 2 who needed a boost in both their reading confidence and competency.

"There is ample research which shows that Grade 2 is really a crucial year for children in their reading development," says Bateman, a teacher and principal for almost 30 years before retiring.

"If you can catch and correct problems at that vital age, students won't fall behind their peers, which can lead to all kinds of problems down the road."

As an example, she cites Maria Abdel Rahman, a Grade 3 student at Valley View School. When her family moved to Calgary from Sudan three years ago, she could speak English but not read it. With the help of a Calgary Reads volunteer who tutored the little girl for four months, she now can't remember what it was like not to read.

Trained volunteers meet with their youthful partners in a quiet corner of their schools for 30 minutes twice a week for 16 weeks.

"That twice-a-week reinforcement is very important in the child's development," says Bateman. "It's not uncommon to see the students gaining a full year in their reading level during their time with their mentor."

What began as 27 student-mentor pairs a decade ago has grown into more that 450 partnerships in 65 public and Catholic elementary schools. Calgary Reads is also expanding into the Rocky View and Golden Hills school divisions.

To volunteer for Calgary Reads, call 403-777-8254.

More information is available on www.calgaryreads.com.

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