Teaming Up for Literacy
12/15/2004 9:24:37 AM | Cross Country, Men's Lacrosse
By: Lydia Beebe ‘06
The Syracuse University athletics department and Verizon Superpages are playing match-maker. The perfect couple in this game is fourth grade students and reading. The two-month Verizon Superpages Reads with Syracuse University Athletics program launched with a series of assemblies at Syracuse City School District elementary schools. The program concluded with more than 75 percent of the 1,600 fourth-grade students successfully completing the program and earning a free ticket to the SU men's basketball game against Colgate and the women's basketball game against Kent State.
The program began on October 15 with SU student-athletes visiting Delaware Elementary School, Meachem Elementary School and McKinley-Brighton Elementary. The Orange student-athletes, dance team, cheerleaders and Otto visited 16 schools, participated in assemblies and read to individual classes. The goal -- to make reading a bigger part of the kids’ lives.
“The merging of Verizon Superpages and Syracuse University student-athletes to bring this message of the importance and need for reading is remarkable,” said Salem-Hyde Elementary Principal Octavia Wilcox. “This is a stellar, stellar program."
According to a July 2003 report to New York Governor George Pataki and the state legislature on the status of New York state schools, approximately 18 percent of fourth grade students in the state’s four largest upstate school districts (Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Albany) have some form of reading deficiency that can be a precursor of learning problems later in life. Through its partnership with Verizon Superpages, Syracuse University hopes to change these numbers.
The new program, created through a grant from Verizon Superpages, is intended to foster an interest in reading outside of class assignments.
“We want to get students turned on to reading,” said SU associate director of athletics Michael Veley. “We want to make it fun.”
Syracuse student-athletes spoke about the importance of reading at an assembly at each elementary school, touching on the merits of being a good student, reaching one’s potential, and using reading as a catalyst to achieve those goals.
“The fourth-grade students are enjoying the opportunity to meet the SU students,” said Nicolette Balducci, who is coordinating the program for the athletics department. “At Meachem Elementary, one boy had his photo taken with the student-athletes, the dance team and Otto, and then he asked to have a picture taken with just himself and the members of the dance team. It was really cute. The SU students enjoy the personal interaction as much as the kids.”
Each fourth grade student was asked to read five of the seven days of the week on whatever topic that interests him or her. In an effort to encourage what is called “free time reading,” students who meet the required 20 minutes a day during the span of the marking period received the basketball tickets. The top readers met the members of the men's basketball at a practice and had their picture taken on the Carrier Dome court during halftime of the game against Colgate.
“We want to give some of these youngsters an opportunity to come to the Carrier Dome,” Veley said. “Our goal is to bring 2,000 students to the game.”
Veley and former SU professor of reading and language arts Dr. Ted Grace began discussions to create this program last spring. In April, Grace unexpectedly passed away. Today this program memorializes Grace, who wanted to use the program to increase engagement with motivation and get kids re-energized about reading. Grace’s research found that reading in most elementary schools diminishes during grades four to six when students know how to read, but lose their desire to do so.
"I think this program is a wonderful tribute to a stellar individual, Ted Grace,” Wilcox said. “He would certainly be smiling down on us today.”
Syracuse student-athletes regularly spend time in the community. For each of the past seven years Orange student-athletes have won the SU Chancellor’s Award for Public Service (CAPS), recognizing their commitment in this area.
“SU student-athletes and members of our spirit squad who want to be teachers are involved with the program,” Veley said. “This is an opportunity to volunteer their time and get some practical experience.”
Marlene Blumin, an associate professor at SU and director of the University Study Skills Program, is working with the student-athletes in the program.
“This is an opportunity for our student-athletes to reach out in a way that increases their visibility in the ‘academic arena’ in the community,” Blumin said.
The program was originally planned to target fourth, fifth, and sixth graders, but was cut back to provide more focus.
“We worked with fourth grade students in more than 65 classrooms reaching all of the Syracuse City Schools,” Veley said. “We did a pilot program in 1998 in the Tully Central School District with Donovan McNabb and our football program. We had our football student-athletes visit the school to discuss the virtues of reading. They connected with the students. Then we were able to fill about 30 buses with students to come to an SU game.”
Having Otto attend the assemblies has been a hit. Although the mascot cannot speak, it is often the topic of conversation.
“At the assembly at Seymour Elementary School a fourth grade student came up to me, pointing at Otto and said, ‘So, is that like a real, live teddy bear,’” Balducci said. “I replied, ‘Kinda, only it’s an Orange.’ The male student, with his eyes fixed on Otto responded, ‘Cooooool.’”
Since 1997, the Verizon Foundation has been supporting programs in the communities it serves. In 2004, the Foundation will distribute approximately $75 million nationwide to support technology and literacy programs within urban and rural communities, according to Michelle Callahan, of Verizon Superpages’ Public Affairs. It is one of the country’s largest corporate philanthropic contributors.
“It makes sense for Verizon Superpages to support the communities where we live and work,” Callahan said. “We want to educate so that we have a community where people can come to work for Verizon, and we can build a skilled work force.”
Student-Athletes Participating in the Program
Field Hockey
Marie O'Brien
Cross Country/Track & Field
Davis Wishart
Heather Stevens
Men’s Lacrosse
Ed Warszycki
Brian Holden
Rob Krauss
John Mecionis
Greg Niewieroski
Pete Coluccini
Brendan Loftus
Dan Didio
Men's Basketball
Allen Griffin, Administrative Assistant
Demetris Nichols
Craig Forth
Women's Basketball
Head Coach Keith Cieplicki
Rochelle Coleman
Sarah Wegrzynowicz
Chineze Nwagbo
Dance Team
Arielle Payes
Rachel Peceri
Natalie Zanot
Krystle Prantil
Barbara Bochner
Leah Dudziak
Kathleen Cronin
Jacki Cadoret
Sara Campbell
Hawa Jalloh
Jenny Abel
Michelle Schaller
Michelle Coriddi
Kimberly Osborne
Stephanie Good
Jenny Mitzner
Becky Hellerstien
Alexa Meyer
Stacey Wang
Cheerleading Squad
BLUE SQUAD
Amber Bromley
Jillian DeBottis
Grace Demchak
Alicia McPeck
Gabrielle Nelson
Jillian McCoy
Ashley Boynton
Casey Mills
Danielle Rosenfeld
Jessica Johnson
Kaitlin McLaugalin
Sara Farrell
Joseph Vogel
Tom Foley
Will Nelson
Stephen Hong
ORANGE SQUAD
Eric Bees
Jessica Dembowski
Peter Dolan
William Dostman
Nikki Hamlin
Tom Harper
Wayne Horton
Katie Kelchner
David Kirshner
Faith Lefkowicz
Kristen Leister
Christopher Littman
Brian Shaw
Pamela Sheridan
Ashley Streeter
Caroline Vakos
Otto
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