By Fallan Patterson
Staff Writer

A partnership between the Osceola County School District and the Early Learning Coalition of Osceola County looks to foster a lifetime love of reading and increase literacy rates in pre-kindergartners as well as rope parents into the activities.

With the implementation of several reading-themed programs through the county’s voluntary pre-kindergarten classes, officials hope building excitement for reading will carry the children throughout school and beyond.

Events like the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom concert and book signing Jan. 29 serve as a backdrop to serve both students and parents through the partnership.

“Our partnership has been strong for the last 10 years,” Susan Sunka, executive director for the Early Learning Coalition, said. “It’s about raising the bar.”

While 29 percent of county voluntary pre-kindergarten (VPK) students are in public programs and monitored by Carol Quick, coordinator of the district’s Osceola Center for Early Learning, the remainder are enrolled in private, faith-based and licensed home-based facilities and evaluated through Sunka’s organization.

Through the partnership, all students are exposed to programs such as the Reading for Kindergarten program partnership with Disney where Belle, from “Beauty and the Beast,” makes appearances at VPK classrooms for story time.

VPK students and their parents also can partake in the Read and Rise program, which helps parents emphasize cultural references and everyday moments – like cooking dinner – as teaching opportunities. Reading Buddies allows the children to create a stuffed pal with an outfit and a name and sign a contract with their parents to read daily.

Many of the programs encourage parent involvement to emphasize reading and discourage the barrage of technological devices children are constantly exposed to, such as handheld video games, cell phones and computers.

“We’re losing a lot of opportunities for parents to read to their children (because of technology) on a daily basis,” Quick said.

Quick emphasizes parents should be reading to their children or having the child read at least one book a day.

“It’s the strongest predictor for children becoming strong readers,” she said. “It can be such a special time for both the parent and the child, something they can look forward to.”

For the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom event, VPK teachers encouraged the 4-year-old VPK students’ curiosity for reading by explaining what an author does, reading the book and having the children create trees for the “coconut grove” described in the book. The colorful art projects, made with the students’ handprints for leaves and decorated with letters, served as backdrops to the concert where the book’s author, John Archambault, sang songs and signed the 250 books provided to concert attendees.