Children, Parents ‘Read Out Loud’ at P.S. 165

Young voices echoed off the gymnasium walls at P.S. 165 Saturday afternoon, but the children inside weren’t passing balls back and forth or running across the court. The basketball hoops were pushed aside to make space for rows of tables stacked with glossy children’s books, arts and crafts supplies, and pamphlets directing parents to local educational resources.

The rainy weather couldn’t keep local families at home, and over 250 children and parents flocked to the school for the second annual Read Out Loud family literacy event, cosponsored by Jumpstart and the Morningside Area Alliance.

Each of the children in attendance, from toddlers to middle-schoolers, could take home one of the 600 new books donated to the event. Seven local authors were present, reading from, signing, and giving away more books. Jumpstart members from Barnard and Columbia, members of NYU’s Black Allied Law Students Association, and others from the Morningside Heights community were among those who helped to organize and staff the event.

Joanie Atkinson, BC ’12, aimed to show the children how the arts and crafts related to the books.

“Here is the book and here’s everything the book can open up to you,” Atkinson explained.

At a neighboring table, two boys—one in pre-K and one in first grade at P.S. 165—finished their watercolor paintings before turning to their slices of pizza for lunch. Across the gym, a group of attentive children listened to cartoonist Jerry Craft explain the process he uses to create his comic strip books.

Several local institutions were represented as well. Kristy Raffensberger, children’s librarian at the Morningside Heights branch of the New York Public Library, offered “ready to read” kits with tips for parents for reading with their children. Volunteers from the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine and Community Impact’s Artists Reaching Out group also led art projects.

“Look at us,” said Ivonne Torres, programs coordinator at P.S. 165. “Morningside Park that way, Riverside Park this way, Columbia University down the street.” She aimed to show local families the number of resources that are readily available.

Despite the fun, the more serious goal of improving literacy was never far from mind.

“How can this program help my grandchild?” one woman asked as she approached a table featuring the Reading Rescue program of Literacy Trust, Inc. A statistic posted in large writing on the table’s display read, “80 to 90% of students unable to read at the end of 1st grade will never learn to read well.”

“They don’t catch up,” Nora Hoover of Reading Rescue said of students who haven’t reached their grade level reading goals. “Before I die, I want every single elementary school to be tutoring.”

“I think we all agree that reading is really so powerful,” Torres said.

Julia Jeon, site manager of Jumpstart New York at Barnard College, said organizers hope to expand the event next year, raising more grant money in order to distribute more books and feature more authors.

alicia.outing@columbiaspectator.com