First graders from all five Ashland elementary schools celebrate student reading achievement 

By Holly Dillemuth, Ashland.news 

Learning to read is something to celebrate with fanfare and flair — a sentiment that took center stage Wednesday at Ashland High School.

A processional of about 170 first grade Ashland students and their teachers walked through a colorful balloon arch leading up the steps of the Mountain Avenue Theatre, applauded by Ashland Rotarians gathered to lavish the royal treatment on 6- and 7-year-olds celebrating learning to read, a major milestone in first grade.

Students from Bellview, Helman and Walker elementary schools took part, as well as TRAILS Outdoor School and Willow Wind.

The celebratory event is organized by the Rotary Club of Ashland and The Rotary Club of Ashland Lithia Springs, with additional support from a Rotary District 5110 grant. 

Among Rotarians awaiting the students for the “Celebration of Literacy” event were Shonelle Quattlebaum and Tysen Mueller, who were dressed as a unicorn and pufferfish respectively. Their characters were from books distributed to the students following the program. 

Quattlebaum said she made Mueller’s costume, noting that his pufferfish hat, which donned two, big googly eyes, was made out of styrofoam.

“I love welcoming them when they come through,” Quattlebaum said. “My first year (volunteering) was during the pandemic … Last year was the first year back.”

Sophia Gulbransen, a Southern Oregon University student and member of the university’s Rotoract (a university arm of Rotary), was among a handful of student greeters also welcoming students to the theater, all sporting sandwich boards with colorful book titles. Her sandwich board represented “Unicorns are the Worst,” by Alex Willan, one of the five books that went home with students Wednesday — and clearly the first graders’ top choice, judging by the majority of hands that went up later on in the program.

“We’re excited to help out and promote reading and books,” Gulbransen told Ashland.news, in between groups of students passing through.

“Their faces light up when they see your book,” she added. “They recognize the book and they go, ‘Oh that’s my book.’”

Teachers read the books to students during the winter and students were able to name their favorite — not knowing that they would be awarded a book bag with their selection and other prizes.

This year’s other book titles were: “The Bright Side,” by Chad Otis; “Powwow Day,” by Traci Sorell; “How to hug a Pufferfish,” by Ellie Peterson; and “Once Upon a Book,” by Grace Lin.

After students were seated by classroom in rows, children’s author Tish McFadden, of The Rum Tum School of Music, joined Bellview Elementary School teacher Bekka McAlvage on stage to lead students in songs and cheers.

“What are we celebrating?” asked McFadden.

“Reading!” McAlvage said enthusiastically, followed by an echoed response from students.

“What do we love to read?” McFadden asked.

“Books,” cheering students echoed McAlvage.

“We’re here because we love reading books full of words and letters!” McFadden added.

Each year, the event features a children’s author who also reads their work for the group. This year, McFadden read her book, “The Song of the Redwing,” which features birds, mammals, and wetland wildlife.

“And by the way, I dressed today like a red-wing blackbird,” McFadden said. “I have my red stripes. They’re very common where I grew up, I grew up in Michigan and we heard them call all the time,” she told first graders. “It was very fun to hear and I bet you could imitate it.”

McFadden, while reading the book, led the students in a red-winged blackbird call: “O-pree-um!” McFadden said. Students echoed the call.

Students were also able to test their comprehension of the book by answering questions after the book reading, showcasing all they have learned in first grade.

As the event wrapped up, former Ashland School District superintendent and former president of one of the Ashland Rotary groups, Juli Di Chiro, shared further about the importance of the event with Ashland.news, noting it centers on making sure students know the importance of learning to read. Di Chiro, who was selected as Rotarian of the Year for 2023-24, also serves as assistant governor of Rotary Clubs in Jackson County.

“Not every child learns how to read in first grade, but most of them do,” Di Chiro said. “And so we just want to celebrate that attainment for them and then, of course, encourage them to keep reading over the summer.”

Summer reading at the Ashland Public Library starts in June, and this summer, Wildlife Safari will bring animals to the library as part of their events.

Second and third graders will also receive two paperback books for summer reading before school is out in June, according to children’s librarian Lyn Heerema. 

“A lot of kids, they’re not around books during the summer, they have a lag when they come back into school,” Di Chiro said. “We try to keep that from happening, so they start off where they left off. All this is to just encourage literacy because we know if kids don’t learn how to read by about third grade, their outcomes aren’t so good, so we really emphasize that every kid (be) fluent in reading by the end of third grade.”

Following a barbecued lunch provided by Ashland Fire & Rescue, students received a special book bag with their books before heading back to class.

While her students were eating lunch following the program, Walker Elementary first grade teacher Jules Boufford shared that her students are working on decoding skills, such as phonological awareness.

“Here, they really see themselves as readers,” Boufford said. “They’re building the foundation, so this is a really cool way to end the year.”

Reach Ashland.news reporter Holly Dillemuth at [email protected].

May 10: Story updated to correct Jules Boufford’s identification and quotation, and name of Ashland Fire & Rescue.