By: Jayden Simo, Laura Zheng, Shivum Pandove, Dhruv Gupta, Mayzie Connelly
Several elementary schools in Howard County have alarmingly high rates of ESOL students and not enough resources to give them proper support. English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students, who do not speak English as their first language, have a harder time learning how to read and statistically have substantially lower reading levels than other students in their grade level. They require more support, resources, and social interaction, which they are not receiving from virtual learning.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, libraries are closed and children are stripped of the opportunities to explore their literary interests and discover what they enjoy reading. In addition, these students’ reading levels are falling during the pandemic because of less face-to-face instruction overall. According to a study conducted by Yale, all elementary school students are projected to see an approximate 30% drop in their reading proficiency compared to a normal academic year. This combination of a large number of ESOL kids in Howard County elementary schools with the ongoing pandemic negatively affecting young students’ reading levels leaves this specific demographic in our local area at a great disadvantage.
River Hill FBLA has initiated Project Improving Literacy (PIL), a community service project aiming to collect and donate books to ESOL students in the Howard County community. The initiative organized several book drives at River Hill High School, where members of the River Hill community dropped off any children’s books from their homes that they could spare to help another group in need. With the support and contributions of the entire community, PIL has been able to collect and donate over 350 books to Pointers Run and Phelps Luck Elementary School ESOL students.
In addition to donating books, PIL has been working with the ESOL teacher at Pointers Run, Mrs. Mundie, to interact with her ESOL students over Google Meet. In these interactive Google Meet sessions, members of PIL play fun and educational games with the ESOL students to help engage them in reading. Some of the activities included writing and telling stories and playing word games. These virtual sessions also give ESOL students time to relax and engage in some social interaction as opposed to sitting in front of their devices all day for school.
Interested in helping? PIL holds monthly book drives at River Hill High School, and any and all children’s book donations are welcome. Follow @riverhillfbla on Instagram for additional updates and information and email service.rhfbla@gmail.com if you have any questions.