Everett Elementary School student Helianys laughed with delight as she moved markers across a game board after spelling a word correctly for her mother.
 
Happy scenes like that were common in the school cafeteria during Everett’s second Family Reading Night of the year. More than 100 parents, children and teachers gathered to read books, play games and get to know their neighbors. The school began the new program this fall to promote literacy and help families meet Everett staff members in a fun atmosphere.
 
“It’s been really good to spend time here and meet a lot of people,” Stephany said. “I think it’s a great idea to have something like this for families here.”
 
Everett Principal Mike Long said family and community engagement was a top priority when he applied for the Parent Power grant through LPS Federal Programs last year. He and Shari Anderson, the school’s librarian, developed the idea for an evening full of literacy-based activities.
 
“This is a really good turnout,” Long said. “This is exactly what we were hoping for. I’m really happy with the number of people who are here.”
 
Anderson said their goal was to create a welcoming environment for everyone who walked in the door.
 
“As a librarian, I firmly believe in the power of reading with families, and anything we can do to encourage people to come together and ask questions and have conversations is a good thing,” Anderson said.
 
Children learned about the importance of reading in several ways during the night. Anderson used a portion of the grant to purchase 100 copies of “A Bad Case of the Stripes” for families. Parents and students followed along as she read the story over a microphone and showed the illustrations on a projector screen.
 
Anderson also created custom-made board games for each family to bring home along with their free book. Each game contained words included in the Lincoln Public Schools reading curriculum.
 
“The hope is that they’ll use these fun games to build their reading fluency, which will help further their reading and make them feel like they are successful readers,” Anderson said.
 
“Making those connections with each other is really critical,” Long said. “A big goal of this is that we wanted it to be a place where staff and families could work together.”
 
“We have the chance to connect with families in a real and authentic way,” Anderson said. “It makes all the difference.”
 
Visit home.lps.org/reading/ for more information about reading activities and lessons for LPS students and families.
 
Do you have a story idea? Share it with the LPS Communications Team by filling out this form!