Photo by Nancy Royden. Left, Nayely Mendez, Yoseline Guzman and Antonio Mejia, students at Riverdale Elementary School in Riverdale Park, enjoy new books during a Reading is Fundamental distribution day Jan. 29 at the school.

Published on: Tuesday, February 02, 2010

By Nancy Royden

Today children have a multitude of activities vying for their time – from electronic gizmos to sports and other activities. The purpose of the Reading is Fundamental program is to get them to make reading one of their biggest habits.

Students at Riverdale Elementary School in Riverdale Park have been honored by RIF, the nation’s oldest and largest children and families’ literacy nonprofit organization, by being named its national Program of the Month award recipient for January 2010.

Every child involved with RIF can choose and keep new books, at no cost to the children and their families. The organization is known for its flagship service, Books for Ownership, formerly known as the National Book Program. Under this initiative, students choose and keep several paperback books annually, according to the organization.

Carol H. Rasco, president and chief executive officer of RIF, said RES’s RIF coordinator, Donna Aquilla, is doing a great job to encourage the students.

Rasco wrote on her blog, www.RascoFromRif.org, that even with obstacles, parents can help their children succeed in school.

“Even with the issues of language barriers and busy schedules, parent involvement is key at Riverdale. The school involves them by assigning an agenda book for children that their parents have to sign, indicating that their children have read or have been read to,” she wrote.

Abby Draper, spokeswoman for RIF, said when RIF book distribution days happen at the school, students read for at least 20 minutes every night. This is part of the “Drop Everything and Read” activity. Additionally, RIF volunteers are at the school to read with the children and distribute RIF books for their personal libraries.

“Donna Arquilla is a dedicated and energetic advocate for RIF. She worked for six years to partner with Reading is Fundamental and she has made an enormous impact on many children’s lives through initiatives like Second Cup of Coffee, a program in which parents can participate in workshops and demonstrations on how to encourage their children to read,” Draper said.

Arquilla said the school has the third highest poverty rate in the Prince George’s County Public School System, and she is highly proud of the students for increasing their reading skills.

Last year, the students in kindergarten through grade two wrote class books, and children in grades three to six wrote their own individual books.

Publicity the students and their work garnered helped get the attention of the people at RIF.

“RIF interviewed me. Many of our students don’t have books at home,” she said.

Draper said the school’s Renowned Roadrunner Readers program, known as the Triple R Club, is fairly new, it has helped turn unenthusiastic readers into authors.

The program’s participants are provided professionally bound books for children to use for writing, thereby building their confidence and interest in the craft.

Carol Cantu, the school’s principal, said she is happy the students have received accolades for their work.

“I’m very proud of my students. I’m proud of my staff. They are becoming proficient readers through this program,” she said.

RIF was founded in 1966 and motivates children to read by working with them, their parents and community members in a collaborative effort.

“RIF’s highest priority is reaching underserved children from birth to age 8. Through community volunteers in every state and U.S. territory, RIF provides 4.5 million children with 16 million new, free books and literacy resources each year,” Draper said.

According to the group’s Web site, funding is provided by the U.S. Department of Education, corporations, foundations, community organizations and individuals.

For more information about RIF, visit www.rif.org.