Olympia South reading goals bring Corny to town

[January 09, 2012]  ATLANTA -- Students at Olympia South Elementary have goals in mind -- reading goals, that is. On Friday the school received a visit from someone who wants them to read more and meet their goals. Corny, the mascot for the CornBelters professional baseball team in Normal, promotes reading programs in area schools. His visit to Olympia South signaled the beginning of a four-month agenda to improve reading scores.

According to OSE Principal Stacy Rogers, teachers for the school's kindergarten through fifth-grade classes will set monthly goals for their individual classrooms. But the overall school goal is for students to obtain a 90 percent reading score on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test, or ISAT, in March. The state achievement test is administered annually to third- through eighth-grade students. The test includes reading, math and (in fourth and seventh grade) science.

"The teachers are setting monthly goals in their classrooms," Mrs. Rogers said. "If a student meets the goal, they win a ticket to a CornBelters' baseball game. The program will run from January through April. The timeline will allow students to win a total of four tickets -- one each month.

"So, four months of meeting goals and they win four free tickets for their family to attend a game on any Tuesday night during the CornBelters' regular season," Mrs. Rogers said.

The staff felt that if students could accumulate multiple tickets, it would be easier for a family to attend a game.

"Also, we have a reading tree in the hallway, and after a student reaches the monthly reading goal, their name will be placed on the tree," Mrs. Rogers continued. "The kids like to see their name highlighted, and it will be one more way to reward them for working hard."

Mrs. Rogers said the school benchmarks reading progress three times during the school year. This year students are charting their own progress. The process will allow them to take ownership of the data. Teachers felt the students would work harder if they were responsible for recording their own numbers, instead of teachers tracking the information and students seeing the final numbers.

To promote the 90 percent goal, a poster campaign has been developed by staff members. Title I teacher Rosemary Rizzolo took pictures of OSE students who have achieved high reading scores in the past and are good reading role models for other students. Also contributing was Heather Rogers, a teacher's aide who will soon receive a teaching certificate. She is currently substitute teaching at OSE and used her artistic talents to design the poster and format the photographs. The result is a poster that reminds the students about the "Next Stop, 90%" goal. Posters will be on display around the school building and in classrooms.

Another connection for OSE students to the Normal ball team: May 22 will be Olympia Night at the Corn Crib, the CornBelters' home field, near Heartland Community College in Normal. While unrelated to the reading program, the special night gives students and their families the opportunity to attend a CornBelters game and receive recognition for attending OSE.

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Olympia South Elementary

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[By MARLA BLAIR]