Lindell School kicked off their 2016 Pick a Reading Partner program with an assembly on Jan. 11.

PARP officially began on Friday, Jan. 8 and will run until Friday, Jan. 29. During this time, students are delving into the world of literature and spending additional time engaged in reading activities.

Sponsored by the PTA, Lindell’s program for 2016 is based on the theme “Reading is Magic.” PARP is a collaborative effort among parents, teachers, caregivers and students that intends to build a reading partnership between the home and school.

During the course of this three-week initiative, students are asked to read for at least 15 minutes each day with a parent/caregiver and record their minutes on reading logs that are provided to teachers. Lindell’s goal is to read for a collective 75,000 minutes. As another PARP component, guest parents and community volunteers will be visiting various classrooms to read to students.  

All of the district’s elementary schools participate in PARP during the school year. The program was observed at West School in October and will be celebrated at Lido and East Schools in March. According to the New York State PTA, learning to read is the single most important activity in a child’s education. Studies show that students who read at home are better prepared to succeed in formal education.