Sincerely, 

Susan Jaye-Kaplan  

Link to Libraries, Inc.

President & Co-founder   

On June 10, Dr. Jennifer Stratton, Assistant Professor of Education at Springfield College, conducted an in-depth training workshop for Link to Libraries readers entitled, "The Power of Reading Aloud." Dr. Jennifer Stratton conducts & workshop attendees Dr. Stratton reviewed the building blocks for developing reading fluency and comprehension. She outlined for us the key components of literacy development, explaining how volunteer readers can support these key components as they read to their students.Dr. Stratton modeled good read aloud techniques for attendees, readingIt's a Home Run for Bunnyby Richard Anderson, the true story of an all-star baseball team from Springfield, Massachusetts.. For those unable to attend, here is a list of references and resources:

Armbruster, B.B., Lehr, F., & Osborn, J. (2002). Put reading first: The research building blocks for teaching children to read. 

https://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/prf_k-3/documents/PRFbooklet.pdf   

Reading Rockets Website: Tips for Reading Aloud
http://www.readingrockets.org/reading-topics/reading-aloud    

Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) Website: Book Guides
http://www.rif.org/us/literacy-resources/multicultural/2013-2014-steam-multicultural-booklist.htm

Dr. Stratton and her husband, Attorney Seth Stratton, are also LTL Business Book Link sponsors for Kensington International School in Springfield. Many thanks are in order.  

We have new sponsors to thank! New England Dermatology has sponsored Mary Walsh Elementary School in Springfield. The Springfield Falcons have sponsored a second school-Bowie Memorial School in Chicopee. David Ratner of Dave's Pet & Soda City has generously sponsored both Warner School in Springfield and Chapin Elementary School in Ludlow. We are so fortunate to have such wonderful local business owners who value the importance of education and who recognize the urgent need to help our underserved students.

However, we still have many more schools that need our help. To address this need, we recently held a "Breakfast for Champions," an event sponsored by two of our first Business Book Link sponsors, Christopher Borowiec, U.S. Trust, Bank of America and Dana Barrows, Northwestern Mutual. The breakfast was held on Tuesday, September 30, from 7:30 - 9:00 AM, at One Monarch Place. This event brought current sponsors and potential new sponsors together to discuss the benefits of becoming a Business Book Link sponsor.

At the breakfast, Erica Broman, Executive Director of the Holyoke Community College Foundation, gave a presentation of the creative ways the College has engaged with the Morgan School in Holyoke. Here is her summary of what they have done:

"The Holyoke Community College Foundation has funded a partnership with the Morgan School in Holyoke through Link to Libraries for two years with tremendous results for both the college and the school. Working closely with staff and teachers at the school, HCC employees have read aloud in classes and worked individually with students to help improve reading. College faculty and staff are paired with individual students in kindergarten through third grade and act as a reading mentor. They met twice a month and worked with the students throughout the entire academic year.

Reading gains among the youngsters were substantial with many increasing between four and eleven reading levels. As an incentive, the college offered the students an ice cream social at the conclusion of the school year at the college's Bartley Center. Sixteen students participated with free ice cream, balloons and another opportunity to meet with their mentors. "We were particularly interested in having the youth come to the college. Many have never been on a college campus and don't see that as a possibility for their future. We wanted them to know that it is possible and gave them a tour of the campus and even admissions packets along with a book for summer reading purchased by the HCC library. Our relationship with the Morgan School is one of the best partnerships we have, allowing our faculty and staff to give back to the community in a meaningful way."

Our event sponsors have both added their own personal touch to their schools. Dana Barrows of Northwestern Mutual bakes delicious chocolate chip cookies for his grade 3 students at the Coburn school in West Springfield and Christopher Boroweic at U.S. Trust, Bank of America, donated new books for graduating grade 5 students at the Homer School, Springfield.

Thank you to Dana Barrows and Christopher Boroweic for sponsoring this event. We hope all who attended enjoyed sharing ideas for creative and meaningful engagement with their schools and that the event encouraged new potential sponsors to join this important program connecting local businesses to our neediest schools. 

Ice cream social sponsored by Holyoke Community College Morgan School thanks Holyoke Community College readers

L to R: Executive Bord Advisor, Tim Crimmins, Business Book Links Project Director, Dr. Susan Landry, and sponsors, Pride, Karen Nystrom, Hampden Bank, Sheryl Shinn and Monson Savings Bank, Lena Buteau

Mary Daboul, Link to Libraries monthly reader at the Bowie School in Chicopee is pleased to be a LTL volunteer because she is able to share her love of literature with children. Mary explains, "The children are so excited and grateful to receive a new book to take home at the end of each read aloud and the opportunity to build their own home library of books. Literacy is life changing; I'm thrilled to play a small part in helping so many children develop as readers and connoisseurs of good literature."

Joyce Hogan, the school librarian, commented, "The third grade students love to have Mrs. Daboul in the classroom and they look forward to hearing the stories that she shares. The students and staff look forward to the read aloud dates and appreciate this opportunity very much. Receiving a new book from LTL at the end of each visit encourages the students to go home and READ their brand new book!"

Kelly Beaulieu, Link to Libraries monthly reader, participates in the read aloud program at the Coburn School in West Springfield for a variety of reasons. Most importantly, she enjoys giving back to the community and believes strongly in the power of volunteering. Kelly explains, "The group of third graders that I read to get very excited when I visit their class. They love the fact that someone is reading to them and giving them a book to keep and take home." She enjoys interacting with the staff at Coburn School, especially the principal, Mrs. Marcus.

Colleen Marcus, Coburn School Principal had this to say about Kelly, "Her passion for children has been apparent since her first visit to Coburn School. She loves children and it shows. We are a needy school, with close to 90% of our students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, and having a caring adult from the community volunteer to read to our students on a regular basis, shows not only that the community cares, but also gives the children an opportunity to learn about the community and community members. In addition, the books she gives to the students are sometimes the only books that these children have. They truly treasure them."

Carol Fox, who recently retired as the Director of Special Education for the East Windsor, CT school system, is a reader at the Metcalf School in Holyoke. Carol tells us, "Reading to the preschoolers at the Metcalf School in Holyoke is a privilege. To watch their faces as they listen to the printed words come alive is magical. To see their joy as they each select a new book to take home is so rewarding."

Amy Burke, Metcalf School Principal, comments, "This has been an amazing experience for our students. The read alouds elicit such rich conversation and language development. The students love being able to bring home a new book." 

Link to Library volunteer, Sue Bennett, gave out 300 books at the New England Collegiate Baseball League's Valley Blue Sox baseball game Saturday night, July 19 at Mackenzie Stadium in Holyoke. 

The family-friendly stadium drew over 2,000 fans, many of the children who ranged from elementary to middle school students, were surprised and glad to receive a free book. The stacks of books covered many topics: from board books for babies to sports and animal themes. Judging from the smiles on their faces the kids loved the experience. Some even started reading them on the spot. And Blue Sox Mascot, Big Red, stopped by the Link to Libraries table to thank the organization for caring. 

Dana Barrows - Mittineague School, West Springfield

Kelly Beaulieu - Coburn School, West Springfield

Erica Broman and Holyoke Community College - Morgan School, Holyoke

George Burtch - McMahon School, Holyoke

Mary Daboul - Bowie School, Chicopee

Roberta Hillenberg-Gang - Warner School and Square One, Springfield

Michael Hirshberg - Selsar School, Chicopee

Kathy Kessler - Square One, Springfield

Susan Landry - Kelly School, Holyoke

Meyers Bros. Kalicka - Sullivan School, Holyoke

George O'Brien and BusinessWest Magazine - Rebecca Johnson School and DeBerry School, Springfield

Malcolm Schneider - Dorman School, Springfield

Bill Trudeau and Insurance Center of New England - Martin Luther King Charter School of Excellence, Springfield

Sam Goldberg - Boland School, Springfield

Phyllis Dindas - Sumner Avenue School, Springfield

Brenda Garton - Homer Street School, Springfield

Mal Schneider - Dorman School, Springfield

Carolyn MacDaniels - Discovery School, Greenfield

Big Y - Pottenger School, Springfield

Roberta Bolduc - Lincoln School, Springfield

Martin Baicker - Glenwood School, Springfield

Excel Dryer - Stefanik School, Chicopee

Sally Fuller - Bowles School, Springfield

Steve and Paulette Freed - Global Communications Academy,
Hartford, CT

Fitzgerald Attorneys at Law - Washington School, Springfield

Pride/Karen Nystrom - Lincoln School, Springfield

Rachel Voci - Brunton School, Springfield

Margo Woodworth & Francie Cornwell - Springfield Head Start

Carol Fox & Tammy Trudeau - The Metcalf School, Holyoke

Sue Bennett - Bowe Elementary School, Chicopee

Steven Bradley - Discovery School, Greenfield

Annamarie Golden-Hunter - Homer School, Springfield

Amy Cohen - Talmadge School, Springfield

Karen Fortin-Woods - Lawrence School, Holyoke

Susan Landry, Casey and Abby Simon-Plumb, Susanne Simon, The Robitaille Family, The Trudeau Family, The Tremblay Family, Roberta Hillenberg-Gang, Sally Schneider, Gail Baquis, Kathleen Plante, Kieran Summers, The Grodsky Family, The Perry Family, Jack Nystrom, Alec Robinson, The Kessler Family, Kathy Kessler, The Fitzgerald Family, The Finnegan Family, The D'Amour Daley Family, The Crimmins Family, The Cornwell Family, The Weiner Family, The Rediker and Anderlonis Families, Amanda Biron, Phyliss Walsh, Carol Fox and Margot Woodworth, The Alexander Family, Lucy Metz, Katherine Bradford, Zach and Jacob Roulier, Abbie and Annemarie Golden-Hunter, Nolan Stratton, Tyler Grodsky, Elena Chechile, Taylor DiGiorgio, Luke Butler, Emily Butler