Prairie Public Literacy and Media Day at Standing Rock Community Schools helps promote reading and peer mentorship

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Not all students enjoy reading. Across the country, data shows literacy test scores are declining.

Standing Rock Community Schools promotes reading with free books and peer mentoring.

Akaydia Painte spends her morning teaching second graders a love of reading.

“Well, I feel like it just helps them feel more comfortable. And then you just show them the words to it, and that makes it easier for them and maybe more entertaining,” Painte said.

Painte said reading to students will help children succeed in and out of school and gain more reading experience with people other than their teachers and families.

The teacher said not all children have books at home, but through this program they now do.

“So we’re encouraged that we’re getting this extra reading time with other students and the literacy rates here on the reservation. We need, we need more attention, more time with books that sometimes we don’t always get in our other classes,” said Theresa McCann, a teacher.

She said this is a good approach to help them increase their reading levels and promote community.

“Because every time they can see the students or see other students reading to them, they have a model, they have an example and they’ll say, ‘Oh, I want to be like that student,'” McCann said.

Ayden Archambault, a second-grader, said it was fun to learn from the upperclassmen.

“I like making friends with the big kids,” Archambault said.

He said reading helped him improve his spelling skills.

“It helps me do better in school and it helps me like telling stories and stuff like that,” Archambault said.

He said he was excited to take a book home to add to his collection.

Middle and high school students also conducted activities to engage them in literacy skills.

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