GEORGETOWN – Teachers at the Otselic Valley Elementary School want to encourage students to practice the skills they learned during the school year throughout the summer. In an effort to help children brush up on the skills that can become rusty over the summer, the school will be offering a summer reading program from Monday, Aug. 13 until Friday, Aug. 24.

According to reading first teacher, Susan Phillips, the reading program, titled “Treasure Valley: A reading adventure, will be open to students entering kindergarten through the fourth grade. For incoming kindergarten students the summer session will function as an orientation program.

The summer reading program was developed as part of the Federal Reading First Program. The Reading First program provides formula grants to schools based on grant applications received. “SEAs (State Educational Agencies) fund those proposals that show the most promise for raising student achievement and for successful implementation of reading instruction, particularly at the classroom level. Only programs that are founded on scientifically based reading research are eligible for funding through Reading First,” the government web site states. The goal of the program is to have all children reading well by grade three.