By Kayla Henson
Columbus County Partnership for Children
Did you know that more than 700 languages are spoken in India?
It’s a fact that students at Edgewood Elementary School were shocked to hear, and one of many that the second and third grade participants in the school’s summer reading camp learned during their literary travels around the world.
Columbus County Partnership for Children (CCPC) implemented a reading subprogram for Edgewood students during the camp for the past four years, during which CCPC staff visited the school twice a week for two weeks.
CCPC’s participation is thanks to a $5,000 Champions for Literacy grant, which is made possible by corporate sponsors like International Paper who support the Fight for Literacy Games, through which collegiate sports teams – in the case of CCPC, N.C. Agricultural and Technical State University (A&T University) – raise awareness and funding for local childhood literacy efforts.
This year, CCPC’s subprogram was entitled Sports Around the World: Summer Reading Adventure, during which students read books about and played games of other cultures.
Sports Around the World is part of a larger program implemented by Edgewood through Read to Achieve. Brittany Ward, principal of Edgewood, uses the CCPC program to promote the camp, which was designed to help students who struggled during the school year improve their reading and comprehension skills.
“This program [by CCPC] was actually a way that we could encourage more kids to come,” said Ward.
Ward describes one of the parents she persuaded using Sports Around the World as being initially reluctant to enroll her child in the camp because of the summer school stigma.
“[She] told me when she came to pick her child up, ‘Y’all are doing a great job of making this like a reading camp and something fun!’ She said he loves coming every day.”
As a result of the program, her child’s reading score improved by 19 points, putting him on grade-level.
By the end of the program, 38 out of 44 students had increased their reading scores, and all of the students were promoted to the next grade by either passing a DIBELS test, passing a Read to Achieve test, or completing a reading portfolio.
Each week, CCPC staff read a book about a different culture with the students, and then played a game from that culture. One of the days was about Italy, for which the students read Strega Nona and played Lupo mangia-frutta, or Fruit-Eating Wolf, a game similar to tag.
Students were then tasked with reading books outside of the program and logging them in their literary passport.
At the end of the program, the boy and girl who logged the most books in their passports won a new bicycle, as did the girl and boy who most improved their test scores. CCPC and Edgewood staff found that the students who improved the most were also the students who had logged the greatest number of books in their passport and had borrowed books from their local library.
Paxton, age 8, was one of the four students who won a bike.
“What he enjoyed the most was being encouraged to read books,” said his mother, Brooke. “He had told me that he had to read books because it was going to help him learn, and he knew that the more he read, the more chance he had for [winning] a bicycle. He would come home and he would want to read to us like y’all read to them.”
The program is part of CCPC’s literacy effort, Let’s Read, Columbus!, which aims to improve the literacy rate of Columbus County children. The 2024 NC Data Card reports that as of the 2022-2023 school year, just 40 percent of 3rd-grade students in the county scored proficient in reading, which is below the state average of 47.8 percent.
Dr. Selena Rowell is the executive director of CCPC.
“We are grateful to International Paper and Champions for Literacy for the opportunity to impact the lives of these students through reading,” said Rowell. “This project has allowed us to extend our reach and impact to older youth who just need a little encouragement and help.”
Charmaine Blue-Singletary is the program coordinator and grant writer for CCPC.
“When writing the grant, I emphasize how through these partnerships, our most important goal is to instill in each child a lifelong joy of reading and learning. So far, we have had great results! Hopefully, the funding will continue as we try to expand the program throughout the school year.”
About International Paper
International Paper (NYSE: IP; LSE: IPC) is the global leader in sustainable packaging solutions. With company headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) headquarters in London, UK, we employ more than 65,000 team members and serve customers around the world with operations in more than 30 countries. Together with our customers, we make the world safer and more productive, one sustainable packaging solution at a time. Net sales for 2024 were $18.6 billion. In 2025, International Paper acquired DS Smith creating an industry leader focused on the attractive and growing North American and EMEA regions. Additional information can be found by visiting internationalpaper.com
About Champions for Literacy
Founded in 2013 by two high school athletes, Champions for Literacy uses the power of sports to impact childhood reading. CFL has hosted 350+ Fight for Literacy Games with 150+ collegiate athletic teams, generating more than $1.8 million to fund critical reading projects for 95,000 kids. For more information and to learn how you can get involved, visit ChampionsForLit.org.
Be the first to comment