The results tell the story at the Milwaukee German Immersion School (MGIS). Year after year when our students take the WKCE exams their results consistently rank among the better school districts in all of Wisconsin. This is particularly true for the reading results. There are many reasons for these strong results, including:
• Learning in a language-rich environment – where everything, including initial reading instruction, is taught in full German immersion – certainly helps MGIS students appreciate the subtle nuances of language and grammar.
• A dedicated teaching staff also drives these remarkable results year after year. I think you would be hard pressed to find a team of teachers at any school in the state that is more committed to their students than our team at MGIS.
• And of course the parents at MGIS are highly committed to the success of their children. One way that parent commitment is realized is by the strong support MGIS students receive from the PTA sponsorship of three Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) book distributions each school year.
This program is based on a simple idea – having the opportunity to choose their own book will motivate MGIS students to become lifelong readers. I’m sure RIF has done studies to prove this theory with statistics, but as a parent volunteer who has had the opportunity to help coordinate this program at MGIS for two years, I don’t need to see the academic studies to know that it works. All I need to do is see the look on a student’s face as they contemplate which book to choose and then proudly walk out of the library with a brand new book of their own.
At MGIS we take this opportunity to have all 28 classes come to the library to select their book. We also have parent volunteers come to help with the selection process and also to read to each class. While I know it’s only a small portion of the strong test results MGIS students achieve each year, I believe the PTA’s sponsorship for three RIF book distributions every year (and the many parents who volunteer their time to make it possible) is just one of the things that make the journey at MGIS so memorable for our students.
If you are an MGIS parent who would like to volunteer to read to your child's class for 30 minutes or one hour please contact:
Pam at pamcarroll@wi.rr.com or
Bridget at QuiltMom@wi.rr.com
The current RIF book distribution is going on now, October 21st through October 28th.
1 comments:
Thank you, Pam, for sharing about RIF, and thanks to both you and Bridget who do such a great job organizing RIF, and selecting books for our kids each school year. My daughter was very pleased with her most recent selection, bringing it home and telling me, "It's a classic, Mom!"
As a parent who has often volunteered to read to my children's classes during RIF, I can say that it is one of my favorite activities at school. I enjoy it because it's great quality time spent reading with the students, and I even get to be the "bearer of gifts." All the students are always very excited to receive a new book that they can keep, it's a wonderful gift from the PTA.
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