– Gary Fletcher

– The Observer

ENTERPRISE The SMART reading program kicked off its seventh year in Eastern Oregon with a Wallowa County volunteers training session in Enterprise Oct. 9.

SMART Start Making A Reader Today engages volunteers to read one-on-one with K-3 children who need literacy support.

The vision of this statewide non-profit organization started in 1992 to inspire little readers so that we have an Oregon where every child can read and is empowered to read, said Bob Evans of Baker City.

Evans is the new SMART East Region manager, overseeing programs in Baker, Gilliam, Grant, Hood River, Sherman, Union, Wasco, Wallowa and Wheeler counties.

The Wallowa County coordinators are Marlys Watson in Joseph, Kimberly Prince in Wallowa and Sharon McKern in Enterprise.

McKern grew up in Mount Vernon, spent the past six years in Grass Valley, Calif., and recently moved to Joseph with her husband, Seth, a Pacific Power lineman, and their sons Eli, 8, and Isaac, 4.

"We are really happy to be living in a small community," said McKern, who in addition to being a mom and the SMART coordinator is a full-time student at Eastern Oregon University.

Fishtrap has taken over from Shelter From The Storm the fiscal oversight of SMART in Northeast Oregon. The primary expenses are conducting background checks on volunteers and buying book kits and supplies.

As a part of the program to show that reading is fun, each SMART student gets to select, take home and keep to read with their families at least one free book a month.

SMART purchases books directly from publishers at a favorable cost.

The SMART program is designed to complement the schools’ curriculum and encourage children to read outside of school.

Students recommended by teachers get to leave their regular classroom twice a week for 30 minutes where they meet with a volunteer who reads to them, reads with them or listens to them read.

Volunteers in this book and reading program do not teach reading but instead encourage children to have fun reading.

This one-on-one relationship gives children the attention, self-confidence and skills to succeed in school and beyond, according to SMART. Children need to learn to read by the third grade so they can read to learn.

The third grade is a critical point of transition when a student turns from learning the skills of reading to using reading as a tool for learning. The volume of required reading also increases at this time.

Those who don’t learn to read by the third grade are more likely to struggle with reading as adults, drop out of school and be less successfully employed.

Research shows that one in three Oregon fourth-graders read below basic level, according to SMART literature.

SMART has been proven to be effective.

A study by the Eugene Research Institute reveals that students who participated in SMART are 60 percent more likely to reach fifth-grade state reading benchmarks than are similar students who did not participate.

SMART students develop reading accuracy, fluency and comprehension significantly faster and maintain the gains even after completing the program.

SMART has had a widespread impact. Since 1992, 100,000 children were provided with literacy support in some 300 schools in 32 counties, and 1.5 million books were given away.

Last year, 9,500 volunteers read with 11,500 children in Oregon.

Community volunteers and community funding help make SMART possible, Evans said. Just $30 helps buy new books for one child. Tax-deductible donations are needed, Evans said.

Donations can be sent to Fishtrap, P.O. Box 38, Enterprise 97828. Credit card donations can be made at fishtrap.org, or by calling 426-9075.

Reading volunteers are also needed.

"There’s a side benefit in our life too, to see what a difference this makes in the life of a little one," Evans said.

Each adult volunteer spends an hour once a week, with two children, one-half hour each.

"The SMART reading program is an excellent resource for the kids in Wallowa County and a great opportunity for the citizens to seek involvement. Everyone benefits," McKern said.

Program information is available at getsmartoregon.org, or by calling 877-598-4633, or the local elementary school.