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Swansboro opens Literacy Corner

George Copeland Jr. | 11/22/2023, 6 p.m.
Since Sept. 20, the basement floor of Swansboro Elementary School has been the site of a new experiment in education. …
Segade Clements, left, practices a reading tool with her daughter and second grade student, Sincere Carter, in Swansboro Elementary’s Literacy Corner. Photos by George Copeland Jr./Richmond Free Press

Since Sept. 20, the basement floor of Swansboro Elementary School has been the site of a new experiment in education. Among the warm atmosphere of bustling classrooms, Swansboro staff and faculty are using a new Literacy Corner to bring students a personalized way to learn and improve their reading skills.

So far the response from students and faculty is a welcome sign of the program’s potential as a learning aid for years to come. The Literacy Corner’s official opening was Nov. 13.

“The students are super excited,” said Twanya Jones, reading interventionist for Swansboro, “I think, because we didn’t have a space to actually call a literacy corner.

“I think that anticipation really pushes them more toward ‘Let’s get in here and start reading’ because they’re excited about the space that they have to read in.”

The Literacy Corner was created by Swansboro faculty and staff after Principal Theron Sampson discussed a need for a new educational approach to reading.

“I felt like we needed a dedicated space for our students to increase their literacy,” Mr. Sampson said “From there, my literacy team took my vision and they ran with it.”

From left: Margaret Banks, a reading coach, Maria Bayliss, an early interventionist assistant, Twanya Jones, a reading interventionist, and Theron Sampson, Swansboro Elementary School principal.

From left: Margaret Banks, a reading coach, Maria Bayliss, an early interventionist assistant, Twanya Jones, a reading interventionist, and Theron Sampson, Swansboro Elementary School principal.

The space itself is a classroom large enough for 20 to 25 students. It is designed for collective and individualized approaches to reading instruction.

The Corner includes tables for group learning, three corners for independent reading, and a whiteboard and projector for interactive activities.

About 250 books, hand-selected by Ms. Jones, School Librarian Diane Glover and Reading Coach Margaret Banks, are based on instructional reading levels, student interests and current needs are included for use inside the space.

Literacy tools and programs focus on reading that may prove difficult for English learners, those living with dyslexia and other students.

The end result is a room meant to be welcoming and encouraging for students in need.

“We want them to know that reading is fun,” Ms. Jones said. “We want them to know that reading doesn’t have to be a chore, that it’s exciting.”

Swansboro Elementary’s creation of the Literacy Corner was bolstered by donations from stakeholders and community partners, including Liberation Church, Reveille United Methodist Church, The Life Enrichment Center and East Gate Baptist Church.

In addition to carpeting, beanbags and other welcome donations to the space, Swansboro’s community partners also will be volunteering weekly to help students in the Literacy Corner, alongside its dedicated Early Interventionist Assistant Maria Bayliss. With the Corner accessible to Swansboro parents and staff, interest in ensuring the space is a top-quality tool for learning has been high during its creation.

“We’ve also had other parents and teachers pour into it,” Mr. Sampson said. “So this is not only a schoolwide approach that we’re taking to build literacy, but a community-wide approach.”

A major part of ensuring student’s improved literacy through the Literacy Corner, said Ms. Jones, is using scientific analysis to gauge the areas where they struggle and succeed, and adjusting the learning process and tools to focus on areas in need of improvement.

Adjustments in how the Literacy Corner works overall also will be made through the data obtained and feedback from students and staff, which are evaluated and discussed in weekly meetings led by Ms. Banks.

The school is creating a rotation schedule for use of the space to accommodate educators who want to utilize the Literacy Corner at specific times or use specific learning tools.

“It’s a way to enhance their learning process and increase their student achievement over a period of time,” Ms. Banks said of the space. “With the investment that our community stakeholders have placed in our hands, we are definitely using that to achieve our dreams here.”