In a post-COVID-19 world, many young students are continuing to fall behind national benchmarks for reading and math.
Nine-year-olds had the largest score decline in reading since 1990, according to a 2023 study from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, and the average reading score for 13-year-olds was significantly lower last year than in 2020.
Additionally, a 2022 report from the same organization found that Black and Hispanic Californian fourth graders continue to fall behind white and Asian students in reading proficiency. Roughly half of white students and 60% of Asian students were reading proficiently while the same could be said of only 12% of Black and 18% of Hispanic students.
Sacramento organizations are working to correct that disparity by offering kids’ literacy events. The Sacramento Public Library, for example, hosts a Read to a Dog program from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. every Thursday at the Carmichael Library, although other locations also occasionally host.
Laura Yip, 37, has worked for the library for over two years and is in charge of organizing the Read to a Dog program. During a recent event, she explained that children usually get to pick the dog they want to read to.
“That really excites them to have that autonomy,” Yip said.
Library Assistant Laura Yip poses next to a Read to a Dog poster board Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Carmichael. Yip helps organize the weekly event.(Gerardo Zavala/CapRadio)
Children receive a bookmark with 10 paws on it that get punched out every time they read to a dog. Once they get all 10 punches, they get a free book. Yip said young readers get a sense of accomplishment and gain confidence from this.
“I’ve had readers who would come in and be very shy, and in a matter of weeks they’re saying, ‘Bye Laura, thank you!’ And just chatting me up,” Yip said. “It’s really sweet and it’s just amazing to see the growth that these readers go through.”
The program, initially named Read to Rover, was started roughly 14 years ago by Ellen Wildfeur and was taken over by the library after the COVID-19 pandemic. Her husband, Arnie Wildfeur, attends every event with his dog Nixie. He is in charge of certifying dogs for the program through his work for Capital Therapy Dogs, a nonprofit organization that registers handlers and their dogs as therapy dog teams.
“It’s just the greatest joy I have,” Wildfeuer said. “These kids are reading in Russian, Ukrainian, Spanish or any language and we just sit there and enjoy them. It’s a wonderful program.”
Alexey Panasenko attended a recent event with his two kids, a second grader and a third grader. Panasenko said his family immigrated to the United States from Russia four months ago to get away from the war and for better opportunities.
“The guys are waiting every Wednesday to go to the library to read to a dog,” he said.
Second grader Ivan Panasenko reads a book in Russian to Nixie, a Whippet therapy dog, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Carmichael.(Gerardo Zavala/CapRadio)
He also said his kids see going to the library “like a vacation” because of the many programs and activities offered like “gardening, playing computer games and reading books.”
Panasenko explained that in Russia, libraries are very different. Children are expected to be quiet and only one book can be checked out at a time. He was surprised to see that the Carmichael Library felt more like a community space that encouraged children to be themselves and have fun.
“I think it’s the best place for kids and adults because all ages can find what they need at the library,” he added.” “I really enjoy when my kids are at the library and I sit in a chair thinking about my future.”
Eight-year-old Colin Baker said he enjoys the program and visiting the library whenever he can.
“I really like when I read to dogs and I especially like the comic books and Elephant and Piggie Books,” he said.
His mom, Sophia Cummings, said the program has been great for Colin because he was “resistant to the whole concept of reading.”
“Two summers ago, we started coming to this and he was just so excited to be able to read to a dog that he would get the book and practice it so he could read it really well,” she recounted. “It was like a switch flipped of how he viewed reading because all of a sudden he could do it with a dog, and he made so much progress.”
Cummings said Baker now reads on his own at home because the program gave him confidence in his reading skills.
Read to a Dog is hosted weekly. The library also runs other community events including a chess club and a homework zone to a bilingual storytime event and Minecraft gaming.“It’s just such an amazing, nurturing environment too,” Cummings said. “It’s amazing having this amazing resource and the amazing people that are almost an extension of family that you see every couple weeks or so.”
Kathy Chain is a librarian at the Carmichael branch. She said the event creates an opportunity to read in a safe, non-threatening environment.
“There have actually been published studies that show that kids do better reading to a dog than they do to a person because no matter how well-intentioned we are, it is tempting to correct,” Chain said. “Dogs don’t do that, so children are getting the experience of just reading.”
Ashlyn-Claire Daugherty, 7, pets therapy dog Maddie Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Carmichael.(Gerardo Zavala/CapRadio)
Chain also noted that this is only one of dozens of programs and resources the Sacramento Public Library provides the community and she encouraged parents to look into what their local library has to offer.
“I think libraries are better than when I was a kid,” Chain said. “When you went into the library, there was a certain expectation that you have to be very quiet. We prefer to think of ourselves now as a vibrant community hub that people can come in and breathe the library air. We want everyone to come in and choose to enjoy the library.”
Read to a Dog is hosted weekly. The library also runs other community events including a chess club and a homework zone to a bilingual storytime event and Minecraft gaming.
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