By Elizabeth Cook

elizabeth.cook@salisburypost.com

People involved in education know that summer reading is important because of the “summer slide,” the learning lost over vacation months.

That’s one reason why the Rowan-Salisbury Schools are implementing a summer reading program this year for middle and high school students.

But the critical piece to Crystal Merck, literacy coach for the schools, is the access the program will give disadvantaged students who often don’t have reading materials at home.

“That creates a sense of urgency,” says Merck.

The Post is spearheading a drive to raise $76,000 for the program, which would enable each rising sixth- through 12th-grader to choose a book to read over the summer and keep. So far, the Impact Summer Reading Fund has raised $24,877.22.

Merck cited the work of Anne E. Cunningham and Keith Stanovich, who have written about the “Matthew Effect” on education. Referring to a passage in the Gospel of Matthew — “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer” — researchers say that lack of access to out-of-school reading materials and learning opportunities can have a cumulative effect on children, putting them further and further behind.

A summary of an article by Stanovich puts it this way:

“The Matthew Effects are not only about the progressive decline of slow starters, but also about the widening gap between slow starters and fast starters. In reading, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.”

The great recession has had a lasting effect on many Rowan County families. Over half the students in Rowan-Salisbury schools qualify for free or reduced lunch. As poverty has grown, student test scores have gone down.

Another way to describe the impact of the disparities these students experience is as a “cascading effect,” which builds over the years, Merck said.

To counter that, the summer reading program lets middle and high school students choose a book and gives them a place to go to talk about them, Merck said.

“We can fill the gaps,” she said.

Literacy advocates often focus on reading in the early years. Being able to read at grade level by third grade has often been described as a pivotal turning point.

The middle and high school years are “not too late,” Merck said. Any time you can put students on equal footing with access to books, it helps. Plus, she said, lifelong habits are formed during adolescence.

The summer reading program encourages reading for enjoyment, “not because it’s for a grade,” Merck said. The students will have opportunities to get together and talk about the books and even have book swaps.

The keys to encouraging students to read, she said, are to match the material to their reading ability and interests, to make it fun and get them involved.

The books that the summer reading program offers cover a variety of topics and genres.

The middle school list includes:

“I love that they have a choice,” Merck said. “It’s kind of equalling.” It lets all students share a common experience.

Sometimes parents will say that their children don’t like to read, she said. If you can connect them with a text that interests them, “it can really turn that around.”

That’s the goal of the Impact Summer Reading Fund — to improve student achievement and turn things around.

How to give

For the convenience of parents and teachers, donations also may be made directly at individual schools. Make clear the gift is for the Impact Summer Reading Fund.

All checks will be channeled through the central office to be sure the Post gets the information to publish in the paper.