4 April 2010 Gem Lake News - Laserfiche WebLink

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Gem Lake News Page 2 of 6 Charitable Gambling Receipts Fund Local Literacy Programs Last Fall, the Gem Lake City Council was able to award the Willow Lane Elementary School a total of $2500 to fund their literacy programs for local students. The award was made possible through the city's share of charitable gambling receipts. These funds were gratefully accepted and put to immediate use by the school, according to Principal Barbara Kearn. "Having the funds given to us in the beginning of the school year made a huge difference. We were able to look for on-line resources that could be used throughout the school year. We are so happy and so grateful to Gem Lake residents for all their help. I can assure you that your money was put to good use and will make a real difference in these students' lives," said Kearn. The funds were used in three main areas of the school literacy program. First, the school purchased a year's worth of access to an on- line service to improve reading and comprehension, which is called "Raz-Kids." The program allows 24-7 access to on-line tools that encourage children to read age appropriate books or have them read to them by the computer. "Raz-Kids" lets the student select a book they are interested in. The book comes up on the screen and then is either read to them, with each word highlighted, or allows the child to read the book and have their pronunciation and comprehension tested. The child can ask for help on words they don't understand. They can also access the program either in the classroom or from home. The money from Gem Lake provided for enough to cover six 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms with "Raz-Kids" access. The second way Willow Lane Elementary used Gem Lake's contribution was to buy earth science textbooks for 3rd graders. This is especially important now, because the Minnesota Comprehensive Tests lay a heavy emphasis on science and engineering. The third way Gem Lake's funds were used was to buy additional books for the 4th and 5th grade classroom lending libraries. Students in these grades have to demonstrate their independent reading skills as part of their reading grade. By reading books for the lending libraries, they can then take an on-line test through Scholastica Publishing that measures their reading comprehension. All books are published by Scholastica and coordinate with the school's independent reading program. As part of the "Reading Counts" program, Gem Lake funds financed not only more books for the classroom lending libraries, but also the independent reading assessment tools available through Scholastica. Willow Lane was able to buy a variety of interesting books such as "Once Upon a Marigold," "The Lightening Thief," "Chasing Lincoln's Killer," and other titles that will hold the attention of young readers. "In general we are always looking for ways to help students develop bigger vocabularies and improve their reading comprehension. All these tools have really helped," said Kearn. One of the most measurable signs of success with the emphasis on improved literacy at Willow Lane comes from Minnesota Comprehensive Test results. "In recent years, we have consistently scored about 10% ahead of standard expected results." If the school is lucky enough to receive similar funds from Gem Lake this fall, Kearn says the school would probably expand the "Raz-Kids" Program to include 4th and 5th graders. Also, Kearns would like to add more non-fiction books, particularly those that are science and engineering related, to their lending libraries. Kearns is principal of both Willow Lane Elementary and the Parkview Center Pointe School, recently renamed Matoska International School.