As a retired educator with 30 years of enjoyable service to public education, I will be the first to say that it truly does take a village to raise a child.

Knowing the importance of learning in early years and the expectations for language and vocabulary development, it would not only be detrimental to not expose children to the world of “reading and comprehension” as early as possible. In my opinion if we do not expose them we are sending young children onto the battlefield of reading without the capabilities to first of all win the war. We would not be equipping them to be able to stay in the battle (which equates to high school dropout).

When it comes to reading, I believe that the schools have become the child’s first teacher for a large majority of our students. In my experience, I have found parents to be quite reluctant to “teach” language development or reading to their children because they have often felt themselves to be unqualified. When in essence, language development and exposure to reading is what parents do and say each day to their child that help to establish that initial foundation.

It is the daily interaction, the reciprocal communication that takes place in the car riding to Walmart or in the kitchen preparing dinner. It is that quality time spent with family around the table in the evening instead of the isolated television as the sitter or “the text my life away” phone as your child’s only line of communication.

In The 1998 National Council report on Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children it was stated that “the more children know about language ... the better equipped they are to succeed in reading.” As a result of my personal passion to level the playing field and to leave no child behind, Rebecca Blaylock was invited to partner with Barnes and Noble in their annual Christmas Book Sale Drive back in December. As a result of the generous out pouring for literacy, the students at Rebecca Blaylock were blessed to receive over 1,400 books.

The staff, parents, and students at Rebecca Blaylock would like to thank Barnes and Noble and the citizens of Rome and Floyd County who participated in the book drive. To know that there are community members willing to give to children that they do not know, especially at a time when the focus has traditionally been on personal families and their needs, is truly a reason for us to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You will never know how much you have enriched the instructional program at the school and the level in which you have placed quality literature into the homes of our students.

To say a mere thank you does not seem to be enough nor does it allow each of you an opportunity to feel our deepest gratitude. We would like to say to the “village” of Rome and Floyd County that you are truly helping to raise the level of understanding in the area of literacy in the early years. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!!!