Walterville’s Community Spirit is Fueling Student Reading Success

At Walterville Elementary School, educators say reading improvement is more than a classroom goal – it is a community effort.

Serving about 160 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, the downriver school has set an ambitious benchmark: 80% of students reading at grade level as measured by assessments given three times each year. Principal Andy Price feels they’re making steady progress. At the beginning of the school year, he said 66% of students were reading on grade level. By this winter, that number had risen to 72%.

Staff credit that improvement not only to classroom instruction, but to a broad network of community volunteers who spend time each week working directly with students.

One of the school’s cornerstone initiatives is the S.M.A.R.T. Reading program, which connects roughly 25 trained community volunteers – many of them retirees – with students in kindergarten through third grade. Walterville’s library manager Tiffany Haugen credits volunteers who meet not only meet weekly with reading partners but also help guide book selection and “encourage a love of reading.”

In addition, the program also provides students with two free books each month. The process includes both “window books,” which introduce students to new cultures and experiences, and “mirror books,” which reflect students’ own lives.

Haugen said the relationships formed between volunteers and students are just as important as the literacy gains.

“These are real human connections,” she said, noting that many volunteers remain paired with the same child for an entire year or longer. “It’s meaningful for students and for the volunteers, who look forward to coming every week.”

S.M.A.R.T. Reading is only one example of Walterville’s community involvement. Certified therapy dogs visit regularly so children can practice reading aloud in a low-stress setting. Local artists lead classroom art projects. Parents and neighbors help supervise recess and lunch, assist with PTO events, and support family activities such as BINGO nights, jog-a-thons, concerts, and school sports.

That support often draws unusually large crowds for a school of its size. Price said more than 150 people attended a recent fourth-grade girls basketball game, surprising families from the opposing team. A post-flood music concert was standing-room only – a moment he described as confirmation of the community’s deep commitment to the school.

Students take part in Oregon Battle of the Books, a statewide reading competition in which teams study 16 titles and compete in quiz-style matches. Walterville teams have participated for years, with trophies dating back to 2008 displayed in the school.

Staff members say the continuity is a reflection of deep community roots. Several employees are alumni or have family ties to the school, and many live nearby.

Price and Haugen agree that continued volunteer involvement will be essential to sustaining progress toward overall reading goals. Community members interested in helping can apply through the district’s volunteer screening process at tinyurl.com/djka2tjd

For Walterville Elementary, the formula is simple: strong instruction, consistent encouragement, and a community that shows up – week after week, page after page.