Local students attend the Tigers Read Celebration at Clemson University
Students from Darlington County School District who participate in the Reading Recovery program recently joined more than 250 other students from around the state for the Tigers Read Celebration at Clemson University.
The event is hosted by Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney, the All In Foundation and the Clemson University Early Literacy Center.
This initiative, which is in its seventh consecutive year, aims to prevent the decline in reading skills that many students experience during summer months. Research shows that reading skills decline over the summer for some children.
According to C.C. Bates, professor of literacy in Clemson’s College of Education and director of the center, learning to read is the foundation for all academic success, and fighting summer reading setbacks is critical to students’ longitudinal outcomes.
“It’s so important to take steps forward in reading development over the summer, but, unfortunately, many children go in the opposite direction,” Bates said. “We’ve found an extremely effective combo: supplying children with books and having the coaches and athletes they look up to talk about the importance of reading.”
Students began the event with a welcome from Clemson student-athletes and the Swinney family. The students met with Clifford the Big Red Dog, received drawstring bags full of books from Scholastic, a worldwide children’s publishing company, and a community-sponsored hot dog lunch.