New Read and Feed nights feel like 'family' at Eastside Elementary School

Jan. 19—Eastside Elementary School's new Read and Feed family nights are "really fun, because we get to read a book and just have a great time," said fifth-grader Ariel Slaton. "And, we know a lot of these" other students from classes during the school day at Eastside, so "we're all family."

Eastside is making its family nights more "personal and purposeful" this school year with the Read and Feed program, according to Principal Ben Hunt. "Families have loved it, and it's been fantastic."

In prior years, the school's family nights had various educational themes, and students would do several activities, but parents often asked what they could do to help their children at home, Hunt said. During each Read and Feed, teachers model reading strategies and lead discussions related to that night's book.

For example, families can discuss feelings and experiences of book characters, then relate them to their lives, Hunt said.

"They're more critical-thinking questions."

"Then, we feed them a meal — we have great partners," from Chick-fil-A to Dos Bros to Papa's Pizza — and four nights are potluck style, he said. "Lots of individuals and churches are helping, too, so this is really community driven."

In fact, the theme for the first four weeks was "community," and there were 10 families involved in September, he said.

"We can't do (education) without our families, (who are) equal partners, and if we don't do it together, the kids suffer."

These nights "build confidence" in parents who "do want to help," he said. Books are offered in English and Spanish for bilingual students and parents, and there will be four cohorts of roughly 10 families each running for four weeks throughout this school year.

In the first cohort, books read on Read and Feed nights included "Thank You, Omu," Dolly Parton's "Coat of Many Colors" and "Maybe Something Beautiful."

Following the meal, "we do hands-on crafts," and each family takes home that week's book to keep, Hunt said. The program is made possible through a grant from the Whitfield Education Foundation.

"I love that we get to give away books every week — that's amazing — and I'm so thankful to meet all these wonderful people," said Holly Jones, who consistently encourages reading as the school's media specialist. "It's a brilliant idea."

A second cohort was welcomed in October, with the third and fourth cohorts scheduled for February and March.

Staff and administrators devised a list of families to invite, and each of Eastside's 70 teachers is assisting at one Thursday night, Hunt said. The program is offered in English and Spanish, as "we have a lot of bilingual teachers (and) families here."

The familiar atmosphere at Read and Feed nights was no surprise to Ashley Otoupal, who came with her fifth-grade daughter, Sirah.

"It's great" at Eastside, she said. "Everyone knows her name, and everyone is really sweet."

Whitlee Lawless and her children (Jasper, Amberly, Haidin, Camden and Deklen) attended each session of the September offering, quite a statement of confidence in the nights since "we come all the way from Cohutta," she said. "I love that you can sit as a family, eat together, listen to a book, and do an activity together."

She's eager to "learn ways to help my kids," three of whom attend Eastside, "with their reading," she said. "Everyone knows the impact the (COVID-19 pandemic) had on kids, falling behind in school," but the Read and Feed evenings provide strategies for parents "to keep them from getting further behind."

Math and reading levels for students in grades three-eight across the country were lower this fall than last, according to the Northwest Evaluation Association, a research-based, not-for-profit organization that creates academic assessments for students from prekindergarten-12th grade, and shortfalls were largest for Black and Hispanic students, as well as students in schools with high poverty rates.

Lawless learned the value of relating stories to "everyday life," which will "make them more interested in listening," she said. "I was very excited and thrilled to be picked for this."

Fanny Lopez picked up "ideas how to explain so (youth) can understand" from the nights she attended with her fifth-grader, Eslendy, and third-grader, Jan, she said. Often, it's wise to ask them to "make predictions" about what will happen as a story unfolds, for example.

"I like to read because I learn something new," Eslendy said. She'll read "anything," and she appreciates the availability of Spanish books at the Read and Feed nights — as does her mother, who values bilingualism in her children — but her favorite is Jeff Kinney's runaway bestseller series "Diary of a Wimpy Kid."

Slaton enjoys nonfiction and fiction, but a book must have "a good story" that grabs her.

"I like reading, and I think (Read and Feed nights) will help my parents a lot with reading to us," Slaton said. "We get a book" each week to keep, and "I like doing the crafts, too."