South Range Elementary listed as “Effective” school by the State of Ohio for Six Consecutive Years!

South Range Elementary is located in North Lima, a rural area in northeastern Ohio. It consists of grades K–3 with approximately 400 students. The community businesses and parents are very involved and supportive of our school system. We have an “open-door policy” for our parents and have many volunteers who help at our school.

The parents support Scholastic Reading Counts! Our PTO has sponsored and paid for most of the program and books that were needed when we first started. They continue to pay for the quizzes on the monthly book orders and supplement whenever a need arises. The parents comment on how their children enjoy Scholastic Reading Counts!

The administration and staff at South Range were looking for a program to help with comprehension in reading. We chose it over other programs because of the opportunities it offers for student success. They do not feel failure when they have more chances to read a story and pass a quiz. The students look forward to reading books from the Scholastic Reading Counts! book collections. There are so many genres to choose from and the interest in reading has increased. The children are very enthusiastic about choosing classroom and library books that they can take quizzes on the computer. They know their lexile level and find books appropriate to their individual strengths.

The teachers at South Range feel Scholastic Reading Counts! is an added asset to our language arts program and most use it daily. The goals and points are determined by grade level and awards are given in each individual classroom. We have an Awards Day at the end of the year where Scholastic Reading Counts! certificates are handed to each student for success in the program.

The reports for Scholastic Reading Counts! are used regularly. They give valuable information to parents, help teachers meet individual students needs and are used as a criterion in placing children in a Title One Program where intervention strategies are needed.

South Range started curriculum mapping that matched the state content standards in language arts. Scholastic Reading Counts! is listed as a resource/activity to help assess skills in these areas- phonemic awareness, word recognition, fluency, comprehension strategies, and literary text. When content standards are taught, students perform well on state tests. We have been graded by the state of Ohio as an “Effective” school for six consecutive years.

Tips from South Range Elementary:

• First, find organizations or grants that will help fund the Scholastic Reading Counts! program. It is well worth it. We have had a lot of support from our administration and parent organization that has helped with the success of the program here at South Range.
• Secondly, we would recommend the SRI program (Scholastic Reading Inventory) to assist with setting up a solid Scholastic Reading Counts! initiative. This program gives lexile (reading levels) to every individual student and valuable information to his/her teacher.
• Lastly, be patient!! Any time a new program is introduced, it takes time and effort to learn in order for it to be successful and meet the needs of the school implementing it.