Leaders as Readers at Faulk

Leaders as Readers at Faulk

Black Histoy Month celebration promotes literacy

By Billy Woods

West Memphis School District They gathered, as they do about this time each year, at Faulk Elementary to present themselves as humble leaders of the community.

To read to the students.

To share their life experiences.

To encourage the students to pull all they can out of their bag of potential.

The readers varied in race, background and personalities. The kids ate it all up.

Faulk’s Leaders as Readers program, now in its ninth year, is a big enough hit at the school that faculty and administration all agree it is one of the premier programs the school puts on each year.

“We do this sort of as a culmination of Black History Month, but also to promote literacy,” said the school’s literacy coach Lori Knowlton. “We’re doing everything we can to promote literacy within our school and also throughout the district. Overall, however, I would say it is meant not only to become better readers, but also functional members of society.

“We have men from our community to come out and read to the students and talk to them about their career choices, being respectful, staying in school and as a result of that some of these kids are learning things they’ve never had any background with. In turn, the kids become better writers.”

Kyle Watkins rea_

Photos by Billy Woods

Academies of West Memphis JROTC students Kayla Robinson, Devon Brown, Terquarious Brown and Jamesia Kirby spent some time encouraging the students at Faulk in its Leaders as Readers program.