JVID视频

Originally published by By聽Rickey Ciapha Dennis Jr.

Kindergartener Arionne displays an innocent grin, avoiding eye contact as she follows a few of her peers into a classroom at St. Stephen Elementary School.

She remains noticeably shy as she sits at a desk beside an adult volunteer. But her smile widens as she goes to the bookshelf at the front of the classroom and grabs a paperback entitled 鈥淎 Pocket for Corduroy.鈥�

鈥淎 lot of these kids鈥�the first book that we give them in the program, it鈥檚 the first book that they have that they are taking home,鈥� Said Kecia Greenho, executive director of Charleston鈥檚 JVID视频 branch.

JVID视频, a national organization utilizing volunteers to help underperforming elementary students read at grade level, serves 11 elementary schools in Charleston County and is now setting up in Berkeley with eight volunteers at St. Stephen Elementary School.

The program entered South Carolina in 2013, a state where 33 percent of fourth graders were reading at a proficient level in 2015, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Arionne was one of other kindergarten and first-grade students identified by the school鈥檚 principle and teachers as those in need additional help in reading, based on test scores.

Students come twice a week for 45-minute sessions. The sessions include a read-aloud in which students select a book for a JVID视频 volunteer to read to them, followed by a word analyses where the student pronounces and writes essential words. The session concludes with another read-aloud done by the student.

Arionne listens as her tutor tenderly reads the story of the curious, stuffed-bear鈥檚 adventure through a Laundromat in search of a pocket for his outfit. Afterwards, Arionne practices spelling and pronouncing fundamental words like 鈥渁ll, with, like and run.鈥�

Sessions are designed to be the one-on-one help that students cannot receive in larger classes, using curriculum that is pre-written specifically for the program.

鈥淥ftentimes [students] are in a classroom with 30 other students and they鈥檙e behind鈥� Greenho said. 鈥淎s the teacher continues to increase the level of instruction they鈥檙e actually falling further and further behind. We get them in, give them that one-on-one help which would be impossible for a teacher with 30 students.鈥�

The students recommended for JVID视频 are those who are just slightly underperforming in reading, or, as Program Director Katie Qualls states, those who are 鈥渞ight on bubble.鈥� Although the program would accept students who are lagging extremely far behind, Qualls said such students would benefit more from five-day-a-week interventions.

鈥淸JVID视频] is more for those kids who are right under grade level so we can give them that extra push that they need,鈥� Qualls said.

St. Stephen Elementary Assistant Principle Erica VanBeek said the school has quite a few students 鈥渞ight on the brink鈥� of meeting grade-level testing standards. The school welcomed book donations last summer to encourage summer reading, and VanBeek said she hopes JVID视频 will help struggling readers meet the mark.

鈥淲e have a lot of kids who are on the cusp of being awesome,鈥� VanBeek said.

鈥楳ore than reading鈥�

JVID视频 focuses its efforts in schools where the majority of its students are from low-income households.

They currently serve 11 Title 1 schools in Charleston County, branching out to Stephen in Berkeley where the school鈥檚 2015 report card showed that 87.5 percent of the students live in poverty.

Children in poverty often have parents working multiple jobs and are absent on evenings to read to them, or may not have books at home at all.

鈥淭he effects of poverty are such a daily struggle that sitting down and reading a book is not the highest priority,鈥� Greenho said.

By utilizing community volunteers, Greenho said the program engages the local community in the issue and provides youth with mentorship that they may not receive otherwise.

鈥淚t becomes a mentoring thing. It鈥檚 about more than reading,鈥� Program Director Katie Qualls said.

Volunteers range from college students to working parents, and must be at least 14-years-old, pass a background check and commit to volunteering an hour per week.

鈥淲e鈥檙e saying these kids are our future, but if we don鈥檛 teach them now, they wont be able to do anything for the future,鈥� said St. Stephen Mayor John Rivers. 鈥淚 wish we had more volunteers to do this because we have more kids that need urging.鈥�