Bright Beginnings and Byesville Rotary share interest in children’s literacy

Pictured: Tanya Hitchens, Byesville Rotary President and Lynne Beros, Director, Bright Beginnings Pre-School Program.

Chicken BBQ Saturday. If you aren't working, come byy and purchase a chicken.

Reading for next week: July Rotarian, "Our better angels,: pp. 30-35.

Lynne Beros, Director of the Bright Beginnings Pre-School Program offered by the Ohio Valley Educational Service Center, explained what her program offers to improve literacy skills in Guernsey County. Bright Beginnings provides early learning programs for pre-school children in the Cambridge, East Guernsey and Rolling Hills school districts and for schools in Noble and Monroe counties.

Byesville Rotary has strong interest in literacy and shares concerns for literacy development with Bright Beginnings programs. Rotary International encourages all Rotary clubs o become involved in literacy service projects. One of Byesville’s on-going literacy projects has been to provide dictionaries to each 3rd grade student in the Rolling Hills schools.

Bright Beginnings assesses a child’s development in several areas such as literacy, physical development and social and emotional development. If the assessment indicates the child would benefit from the Bright Beginnings program, the child is recommended for pre-school services. Many children qualify for the program free of charge based on their developmental need or their family’s income level.

Beros pointed out “…research indicates that the size of a child’s vocabulary at the time the child enters kindergarten is an accurate predictor of school success.” The larger the vocabulary, the better the child will do in his or her school career. Since 85% of a child’s brain develops by age 3, it is important for the child to begin developing literacy skills as early as possible.

In the state of Ohio about 30% of children entering Kindergarten need intervention services like those provided by Bright Beginnings. This means that almost 40,000 children whose literacy skills are below average enter Kindergarten each year. Intervention services offered by Bright Beginnings help a child develop important basic education and literacy skills. Bright Beginnings programs introduce children to many different kinds of books and encourage children to develop an interest in reading and writing.

Staff members at Bright Beginnings are licensed by the state of Ohio and are required to have professional degrees. The current staff of 58 includes teachers, aides, psychologists occupational and physical therapists, administrators, and a nurse. The Guernsey County staff is currently serving 475 students at various schools in Guernsey County.

For more information about Bright Beginnings programs and services, contact Carmen Feldner, 740-435-0320 ex 22, or Wanda Hockenberry, 740-435-0320 ex 30.

The club meets 7:30 am every Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chairs Marty Patchen, 740-685-3828, or Randy Launder, 740-801-0017