MANSFIELD, Ohio – Reading is in the spotlight at Mansfield City Schools this school year, thanks to a group of elementary school students who made their YouTube debut on Wednesday.
Students from Woodland, Prospect and Sherman Elementary starred in a video released by Mansfield City Schools on Wednesday that emphasizes the importance of reading, especially at home. Sherman Elementary Principal Stephen Rizzo explained the main goal of the video is to get every student in Mansfield from grades kindergarten through third reading at grade level.
“The importance of reading cannot be understated, and [the students] are going to be our ambassadors this year in telling other students and families,” said Rizzo. “We wanted to make that message fun, and we thought who better to deliver it than the kids?”
The two-minute video, produced by Bookbag Video in partnership with Mansfield City Schools, features a group of elementary students sharing statistics that support parents taking 20 minutes out of their day to read with their children. For example, one in six kids who are not reading at grade level by the third grade do not graduate high school.
“Reading is fundamental for success in school and in life, to help you find a good job, it helps develop the mind and helps you discover new things and develop your imagination,” said Rizzo.
Rizzo explained a reading grant received by the school helped fund the video’s production. The video’s message was written by Mansfield teachers in partnership with Bookbag Video, and produced by two former graduates of Mansfield City Schools.
“We brought some staff together to figure out what we can do to better engage families, how do we educate them? We found from teachers the biggest thing is kids are not doing daily reading,” said Rizzo. “They read plenty in school, but we need reading at home.”
By taking just 20 minutes to read every day, said the video, students can learn approximately 1.8 million new words every year, and students are more likely to score in the top 10 percent on standardized tests.
Woodland Elementary Principal Kimberly Johnson also presented the schools’ reading program theme for the year on Wednesday: “Oh the places you can go by reading.” The elementary schools’ reading programs each year include keeping a reading log, and setting goals to read a certain number of books each quarter.
“You can read at school, you can read at home, you can read anywhere,” said Johnson. “The more you read, the more you succeed.”
Rizzo said the emphasis of reading at home has been shown to improve test scores among students, but just as important is to instill a love of lifelong reading in Mansfield students and their families.
“Reading is an enjoyable activity – enjoy that time together,” he said. “It’s a special time when you set aside those minutes daily to read with your children.”
“We brought some staff together to figure out what we can do to better engage families, how do we educate them? We found from teachers the biggest thing is kids are not doing daily reading,” said Stephen Rizzo.
