By Justin andress, For The Mountain Times
According to new statistics, reading proficiency among middle school students has seen a measurable drop since the pandemic. Now, the team at Welches Middle School is doing their part to reverse that trend by putting students in touch with working authors.
Spearheaded by Sarah Fleming, Welches Schools’ media specialist, the program will see area authors interact with students at the school in a variety of ways. Alan Gratz provided signed bookmarks to help kids keep their spot in whatever book they’re reading. Caroline Allen, author of “Blue,” stopped by March 21 to speak to the students about the writing process. Young adult author April Henry took time to answer student questions about life as a working writer.
The goal of the initiative is to demonstrate to the kids how much fun it can be to read and write. Showing them the positive outcomes of a lifetime of literacy is a great way to get them to embark on their own reading journey.
Fleming and the rest of the Welches School staff will continue to develop the Author Initiative in the coming months.