Smithville Elementary to Receive “Read to Be Ready Summer Programs” Grant

December 6, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

Smithville Elementary is among 218 Tennessee public school recipients of the  state’s 2019 Read to be Ready Summer Grants.

Education Commissioner Candice McQueen said these grants statewide will provide a total of $8,900,000 in funding for tuition-free, month-long literacy-focused summer camps for 8,910 students in need across the state.

For summer 2019, the fourth year of the grant program, the department expanded students’ access to the program by changing the student-to-teacher ratio from 1:5 to 1:6. This allows more students to participate without sacrificing the quality and close-knit nature of camps.

“I am proud that once again our state is investing in some of our youngest students who are furthest behind in reading as we work toward the goal that every child is reading on grade-level by the time they leave third grade,” Commissioner McQueen said. “This year, we are increasing access to our camps by providing additional capacity to programs so that more students with the highest need can attend. As we have seen over the last three years, these camps play a crucial role in increasing students’ reading skills and motivation as they have shown statistically significant results each year.”

Over the past three years, the Tennessee Departments of Education and Human Services, with support from First Lady Crissy Haslam, have partnered to expand the Read to Be Ready Summer Grant program. In summer 2018, about 7,700 rising first, second, and third grade students collectively spent over 6.8 million minutes reading and over 4.6 million minutes writing. Students participating in 2018 summer camps saw statistically significant increases in reading comprehension, accuracy, and motivation. Additionally, through the 2018 summer grant program, more than 193,000 high-quality books were sent home with students, and each student, on average, received 25 new books for his or her home library.

Students who attend Read to be Ready summer camps generally are economically disadvantaged and not reading on grade level. Rather than sliding backward, students in Read to be Ready camps have a chance to keep learning and advance their reading skills through a variety of literacy experiences over the critical summer months. For summer 2019, there will be 218 summer programs in 114 districts across the state, including 56 camps located in economically distressed or at-risk counties.

All Tennessee public schools were eligible to apply for the Read to be Ready Summer Grant program. Prospective applicants were asked to design summer camps that were at least four weeks in length and at least four hours per day—providing students with access to at least 80 hours of literacy-focused instruction and enrichment during the summer. The summer camps will use high-interest books, authentic literacy experiences, and engaging field trips to help increase students’ motivation.

Read to be Ready is a coordinated campaign launched by Governor Bill Haslam, First Lady Crissy Haslam, and Commissioner Candice McQueen in February 2016 with the goal to increase third grade reading proficiency in Tennessee to 75 percent by 2025 through a variety of initiatives. The campaign seeks to raise awareness about the importance of reading, unite efforts to address low reading achievement, highlight best practices, and build partnerships.

The full list of 2019 Read to be Ready summer grant recipients is available on the department’s website. To find out more about the grants, visit the Read to be Ready website. For more information on the Read to be Ready summer grant program, contact Miya Libes, Read to be Ready summer grant program director, at Miya.Libes@tn.gov. For media inquiries, contact Sara Gast, director of communications, at (615) 532-6260 or Sara.Gast@tn.gov.

December 5, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

Former DeKalb County High School standout Steven Jennings will have his first “solo” professional baseball card soon.

Jennings is scheduled to appear in the Elite Extra Edition set estimated to be released December 12th. The long-established prospect brand highlights the next batch of rising Major League Baseball (MLB) stars. Jennings is a pitcher in the Pittsburg Pirates organization and recently completed his first professional league season.

Jennings’ card will be one of 200 in the set with multiple variations as well as an autographed version.

Tweaking the formula from 2017, each Hobby box of Elite Extra Edition should average eight autographs and two memorabilia cards. The set also has the company-exclusive players from the Dominican Prospect League.

Jennings first appearance on a professional card was late last year when he was on a two-player card insert set found in Bowman Draft.

The former DCHS right handed pitcher was selected by the Pirates in the Major League Baseball Draft as the 42nd overall pick and sixth into the second round in June, 2017. In June 2018 he was assigned to the Bristol Pirates.

December 5, 2018
By: Bill Conger

DeKalb West School announces its Students of the Month for December. Congratulations to Zayden Davenport, Pre-K, Holden Leiser, Kindergarten, Hailey Brown, 1st grade, Josh Floyd, 2nd grade, Camille Barton, 3rd grade, Hannah Brown, 4th grade, Cameron Stanley, 5th grade, Owen Coffee, 6th grade, Kolton Slager, 7th grade, and Bralin Moss, 8th grade. Students are chosen based on their academics, character, and other traits that make them an excellent student.

Pictured first row left to right: Hannah Brown, Zayden Davenport, Holden Leiser, Hailey Brown, and Josh Floyd.

Pictured back row left to right: Bralin Moss, Camille Barton, Kolton Slager, Cameron Stanley, Owen Coffee, and Principal Sabrina Farler