Read to Me Club is flourishing online
WHS students read to books to youngsters
When Anastasia Rogozinski was about to enter Wilton High School in 2017, she researched club offerings to see what might be of interest.
She happened upon a Read to Me Club, which connected secondary students with their elementary counterparts in a way that was dear to her heart — reading.
When she got to Wilton High, she realized the club wasn’t active, so Rogozinski decide to ramp it up again. The now-senior says the club is still going strong and growing.
Wilton High School Child and Human Development teacher Kristina Sluzewski is the club adviser.
“The group is an amazing unifying activity between the students at Wilton High and Miller- Driscoll (School),” Sluzewski said.
Students would visit classrooms and read books to the students, accompanied sometimes with a connected craft.
The club initially was small, with four or five members, but continued to grow.
Then COVID-19 hit.
Rogozinski and Sluzewski said they weren’t sure what was going to happen to the club given the level of interpersonal activity it involved. Surprisingly, one of the few silver linings of the move to virtual learning is that it has proved to be effective for Read to Me.
“We’ve been incredibly successful,” Sluzewski said.
“We have more than 20 members and have read books to almost every class
at Miller-Driscoll,” she said.
Live readings are done by Zoom, but the program also uses a YouTube channel for pre-recorded readings. The flexibility of doing the readings virtually or at their own convenience has opened the program to many more high school students. Some are regular members and some do just one reading or participate part time.
“Anastasia is a huge
reader. This program allows high schoolers to inspire younger students by helping them to enjoy reading,” Sluzewski said.
“Right now we need as much connection as possible. This is such a special thing and so exciting for teacher and students.”
Rogozinski said she’s always loved to read.
“It is such a unique activity. My parents always read to me,” she said.
She said the online aspect really has helped the club grow.
“It’s allowed us to be more flexible,” she said. The readings are broadcast on the classrooms’ Smart boards.
Rogozinski said she has a collection of books from her early childhood she shares. One of them, “The Library Mouse” by Daniel Kirk, is her favorite.
“The kids really love it when I read that one, and then they find out there are three or four of them (Kirk books) and they get really excited.”
Because the high school has a preschool on site, the readers sometimes borrow from that library, or with virtual readings, online books are an option.
Rogozinski, who graduates this year, said she hasn’t narrowed down her choice for college yet, but she hopes to study English or education. She’s also a member of the French honor society, the National Honor Society and works on the newspaper staff.
Jamie Leventhal, a junior at Wilton High School, said she joined the Read To Me Club because “I love working with kids and want to get them excited and engaged to read.”
“Reading to the children at Miller-Driscoll is enjoyable, fun and enables me to make special bonds with the kids,” Leventhal said.
Rogozisnki said she feels the club will be in good hands after she graduates, as does Sluzewski.
“This group of kids is an incredible group of leaders. We have nine through 12th graders, evenly mixed, with a junior and senior leading group,” Sluzewski said.
“It’s been such an incredible thing to see the connection of the teenagers at Wilton High to the elementary students at MillerDriscoll.”