Hardeman County Reads Looks Forward to New School Year After Successful Launch
The Hardeman County Reads program finished the 2024/2025 school year with successful promotion of all its students to the next grade level. The program volunteers worked with eight, second and third grade students from Grand Junction Elementary School (GJES) helping them with their reading skills.
Betsy Jones, who has a heart for community, especially helping children, was motivated after learning about low reading scores across Tennessee. She wanted to make a difference with children in Hardeman County.
“Learning about low reading scores across the state made me so upset,” said Ms. Jones. “I decided to gather interested people who would help change our corner of the world to improve these skills.”
Ms. Jones planned and began working towards her goal two years ago. After receiving approval from the Hardeman County School Board, she was able to launch the Hardeman County Reads program last school year at GJES. Those students were the first in the county to benefit from the efforts of the four volunteers who worked with program participants throughout the school year on reading skills.
“Our time was spent reading to the kids, kids reading to us, discussing what we read to improve comprehension, word games, basic spelling, phonics, and a little penmanship,” said Ms. Jones. “The best part of this experience is how these kids responded to us. They actually looked forward to our time together, shared experiences and things they wanted to do ‘when I grow up’. We truly bonded and they made us so proud to know them.”
Ms. Jones hopes to recruit more volunteers, so the program can expand to other Hardeman County Schools and assist children in improving their reading skills.
“We work with the children twice a week for the entire school year. The length of class varies from 30 to 45 minutes depending on school schedules,” said Ms. Jones, who worked closely with GJES principal Linda Buggs to ensure the success of the program at the school. “Principal Linda Buggs and Vice Principal Mary Nell Jackson did everything to make us feel welcome. Parental approval [for a child to participate] was handled by the school. I would like to thank our volunteers, the Grand Junction School staff, and all the children who worked very hard to improve their skills.”
If you would like to become a Hardeman County Reads volunteer, contact Ms. Jones at bjbarbj5@gmail.com or (731) 609-6850 for more information.
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