Champions
of
Reading, a reading program to boost summer learning at one
restaurant during the summer of 2017.
In 2018 this collaboration with the School District of Manatee
County, Manatee County Libraries, more than 250 Volunteer
Reading Mentors, and more than 270 rising second and third
graders took place over four weeks in ve different settings.
Dive into Reading received an outpouring of community support,
winning recognition, and awards from the National Restaurant
Association, School District of Manatee County, and Manatee
Chamber of Commerce….and they are not done. Plans are
underway to strengthen the program in Manatee County and
expand the program to other counties.
Carolyn & Steve Roskamp
Carolyn and Steve Roskamp became interested in nding a
solution to why half of Manatee County’s third-grade students
were reading below grade-level expectations. Their hours of
research, experiences volunteering, and their belief in early
intervention led them to work with community partners such as
the School District of Manatee County and United Way Suncoast.
The Roskamps co-created Soar in with a focus on four-yearolds
and their families at Sea Breeze Elementary school. Steve
and Carolyn make a strong team. Carolyn is instrumental in
overseeing a volunteer program through Kirkwood Presbyterian
Church to provide mentors for struggling Sea Breeze students.
To ensure their work continues, Steve and Carolyn have helped
to establish a “Sea Breeze Reads to Succeed Fund” at Manatee
Community Foundation. The success of the Soar in model has
attracted other partners resulting in the expansion of the program
to additional Title I schools.
William Russell
William Russell has been CEO of the Sarasota Housing Authority
(SHA) for the past 12 years, transforming SHA from a perennially
troubled housing authority to a consistently high performer.
William has created an attendance program for students living
in public housing, improving attendance by 56% with 25% of the
students reporting perfect attendance.
William has implemented voluntary pre-Kindergarten (VPK)
classrooms onsite in two housing communities. Under his
guidance, the housing authority launched a Summer Learning
Academy for three and four-year-olds and a summer program
for elementary school students. Students who participated
in SCGLR’s Summer Book Challenge in 2017 showed
remarkable reading gains - 3.1 months - as measured by school
assessments.
Under William’s leadership, the Housing Authority participated
in Book Rich Environments, distributing 2,500 books to more
than 280 public housing children. SHA also hosts a special
event - coinciding with National Summer Learning Day - called
Book ‘Em - Cops & Kids, where Sarasota police officers
distribute more than 00 books to children and encourage
them to read.
William’s visionary approach to ensuring our children’s success
inspires housing authorities throughout the nation.
To each of our honorees, we are grateful to you, and it is indeed
an honor to be able to recognize you in this fashion.
Welcome Charlotte County!
literacy rates.
on paper, it is no stranger to the importance of third-grade reading
• This story comes from a partnership between the Suncoast
Campaign for Grade-Level Reading and the Herald-Tribune,
funded by The Patterson Foundation, to cover school readiness,
attendance, summer learning, healthy readers and parent
engagement. Read more stories at gradelevelreadingsuncoast.
net/category/solutions-journalism-spire-colab/