reading

Local bookstore One More Page to host a party next week celebrating 13 years in Arlington

By Savannah Taffe
1/4

A local Arlington bookstore, One More Page, will celebrate its 13th anniversary next Friday.

People can stop by the East Falls Church bookstore at 2200 N. Westmoreland Street from 5-7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 26. to enjoy cake and refreshments and have the chance to win prizes. The event was originally scheduled for today but moved back a week due to the snow.

The anniversary celebration will highlight the overall goal of One More Page, which is to provide a place for the community to come together to share a love of reading and books, owner Eileen McGervey tells ARLnow.

“We are dedicated to being a part of the community, providing excellent customer service, and being a place of discovery and welcome,” she said.

She credited the community, meanwhile, for helping the independent bookstore turn the page on financial hardships last year.

“After a challenging start to last year, we closed 2023 on a promising note with revenue up and expenses reduced, thanks to aggressive cost-cutting,” said McGervey.

The bookstore also has some breathing room after holding a fundraiser last year, which surpassed its $35,000 goal and paid for needed repairs inside.

“We wouldn’t exist without community support — everyday,” McGervey said. “We appreciate that readers make the conscious choice to come to the store, attend events and book clubs, and share their book conversations with us.”

This year, One More Page will be adding even more “authorless events” that partner with local organizations and businesses, McGervey said.

“We’ve enjoyed adding events where we work with other businesses, like the Boozy Book Fairs and the [Small Business Saturday] Passport program, and we know customers do, too,” she said.

Before the anniversary party, One More Page will host another fundraiser. On Wednesday, Jan. 24 from 4-7 p.m., the Manga Library Fundraiser will raise money to help stock a library of Japanese comics for Ashlawn Elementary School and Swanson Middle School students.

A week later, One More Page will host its very first puzzle exchange on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at 7 p.m.

February will see a trio events, including two book talks and and its signature “Boozy Book Fair.”

  • Cozy Boozy Book Fair at Audacious Aleworks (110 E. Fairfax Street) on Feb. 7 from 5:30-8 p.m.
  • Author talk with Will Mountain Cox about his book “Roundabout” on Feb. 8 at 7 p.m.
  • Author talk with April Asher about her book “Not Your Crush’s Cauldron” on Feb. 15 at 7 p.m.

Arlington students made gains in math and science last year, prompting APS to focus on reading and writing

By Jo DeVoe
Students arrive to Gunston Middle School on the first day of school (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington Public Schools is kicking off the new school year with a bit of good news related to academic performance.

Last school year, students as a whole made gains in math, social studies and science, and in almost all areas, generally exceeded statewide scores, per new testing data.

Between the 2022 and 2023 school years, the percentage of students passing state tests increased by 4 points for math, 7 points for social studies and 1 point for science, according to a presentation to the School Board on Thursday. Reading remained flat and writing dropped 2 percentage points.

Black and Hispanic students, students with disabilities and those learning English, in particular, demonstrated progress. APS highlighted math pass rates that increased by 8 and 11 percentage points for Hispanic and English-language learning students, respectively.

Administrators says the data demonstrates that students are gaining ground after pandemic-era learning loss. It may also indicate long standing achievement gaps based on race, English proficiency, ability and socioeconomic status are narrowing.

Crediting teachers and new academic tools for that progress, Chief Academic Officer Dr. Gerald Mann, Jr. told the School Board on Thursday APS has its work cut out for them.

“We are seeing the work that our team is doing starting to pay dividends and recover some of the loss from the pandemic,” he said. “We’ve come a long way but we’ve got more work to do.”

Future focus areas include reading — where pass rates remained flat over last year, at 80% — and writing, which fell 2 percentage points.

Facing what one committee described a “literacy crisis,” APS overhauled how it teaches reading to elementary school students. Like other schools nationwide, APS is working to reverse years of reading instruction that critics say glossed over the basics, such as phonics, and disadvantaged students for whom reading did not come naturally.

That effort is starting to bear fruit, according to Superintendent Francisco Durán, who noted that this fall, some 91% of kindergarteners could meet benchmarks such as recognizing rhymes, words and letter sounds, up from 81% last year.

“[That] is building them up for bigger success later,” Durán said.

But this leaves a group of students, fifth grade and up, who were taught to read before these changes were made, and might still be struggling today. This year, APS is turning its attention to them.

“Our hope is that the work that we’re doing for secondary literacy this year also pays dividends in the future,” Mann said.

When School Board members asked about falling writing scores, Durán emphasized that the state test measures one type of writing: responding to a social studies or science text.

“We want students to be writers across all different types, and genres and ways,” he said. “I just want to make sure we all are aware of that because, I think long term, it could be misunderstood if we’re just speaking about writing, generically.”

Writing, more broadly, may still be a concern.

A 2019 survey of APS graduates found many graduates wished they had been better prepared for collegiate writing. School Board watchdog group Arlington Parents for Education, which recapped last week’s meeting, previously highlighted the survey, saying students were “practically begging for more… ‘writing assignments.’”

Even as the number of assigned essays increased, Mann said teachers already feel they cannot give adequate feedback on assignments.

“The biggest barrier that I’ve also heard is that ‘I just don’t have the time. I will assign it, but then I can’t give [them] appropriate feedback,'” he said.

(more…)

Nats pitcher Sean Doolittle to read to children at Arlington Central Library

By Mavis Chan
Sean Doolittle is set to host a storytime event at Central Library (via Arlington Public Library)

Children can meet a Washington Nationals player as part of an Arlington Public Library storytime this weekend.

Sean Doolittle, pitcher and player ambassador for the Nats, is scheduled to host a storytime event at Arlington Central Library on Saturday (June 18).

The storytime is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. in the main auditorium inside the library at 1015 N. Quincy Street. This event is set to kick off the library’s annual Summer Reading Program.

Doolittle is set to read stories to the participants and sign autographs afterward. The autograph signing is limited to one item per child only, according to a news release from the library.

The event is being held on a first-come, first-serve basis until the auditorium — which has a capacity of up to 180 people — is filled, Arlington Public Library spokesperson Henrik Sundqvist said. He added that this storytime is the “event of the year” for the library.

The Summer Reading Program rewards children, teenagers and adults for reading over 30 days between June 1 and Sept. 1. During the program, Arlington Public Library has scheduled various events at different libraries, including storytimes, talks and handicraft lessons.

Those who complete the challenge will get a free book or a book coupon to be used at any Friends of the Library bookstore, according to the program’s website.

Additionally, the Nationals will offer a limited number of vouchers for two tickets each to anyone who has completed the challenge, according to a news release. The vouchers can be redeemed at any regular or value Nats game in August and September, according to the program’s website.

The Friends of the Arlington Public Library, another program sponsor, has also pledged to donate $1 for each person completing the challenge to Potomac Conservancy, a nonprofit advocating for clean water in the Potomac River.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
A pedestrian tunnel under Route 50 near the National Guard Readiness Center (Flickr pool photo by Cyrus W.)

DCA Sign Changes Start Tomorrow — “We’re making it easier to find your gate! Beginning June 4, we will be updating our signage to include a letter in front of each gate number. Don’t worry, no airlines or gates are actually moving!” [Twitter, DCist]

Summer Reading Program Underway — “The Arlington County library system’s summer-reading program kicked off June 1 and will run through Sept. 1. ‘Readers of all ages are invited to immerse themselves in reading, participating in 500 free programs and explore the 2022 theme, ‘Oceans of Possibilities,” library officials said.” [Sun Gazette]

Weekend Road Closures — “There are planned road closures to accommodate the 2022 Armed Forces Cycling Classic bicycle races, which will take place during the weekend of Saturday, June 4 – Sunday, June 5, 2022.” [ACPD]

New Name for Park Near HQ2 — “Before the HALRB’s meeting of May 18, it looked like “Teardrop Park” would be a runaway choice for the new space, which will be bounded (in a teardrop shape) by South Eads Street and Army Navy Drive and bisected by 11th Street South… But at the HALRB meeting, Berne stopped that train in its tracks by countering with “Arlington Junction Park,” which would pay homage to an important trolley-line nexus of the last decade of the 19th century and the first four decades of the 20th.” [Sun Gazette]

Free Donuts Today — “It’s National Donut Day on Friday, and several eateries in Virginia and Washington, D.C., are offering a sweet deal or two to lure in donut lovers across the state.” [Patch]

Paper Calls for Return of SROs — “One wonders if Arlington’s School Board members will have a change of heart, now that there is a national drumbeat for more, not less, public-safety presence in schools. Sadly, one presumes not.” [Sun Gazette]

It’s Friday — Mostly cloudy throughout the day. High of 78 and low of 65. Sunrise at 5:46 am and sunset at 8:31 pm. [Weather.gov]

New literacy program at Drew Elementary is helping kids read by teaching science

By Matt Blitz
Students at the inaugural session of the Dyslexic Edge Academy at Drew Elementary School (Photo courtesy of Krista Gauthier)

(Updated, 2:50 p.m.) A new, free literacy program has come to Drew Elementary School thanks to the local non-profit Sliding Doors, Virginia Tech, and the local NAACP branch.

The Dyslexic Edge Academy launched this week with 11 first graders at Drew Elementary in Green Valley. The goal is to help those students who struggle with reading by focusing on their strengths.

“People with dyslexia tend to gravitate to and be very good in STEM fields; science, technology, engineering and math,” Krista Gauthier, executive director of Merrifield-based Sliding Doors, tells ARLnow.”What we want to do is not only make sure that kids receive the evidence-based instruction that they need, but also play on their strengths. To us, confidence is as important as reading.”

The students meet with instructors after school in a group setting twice a week for 90 minutes. Half of the session is spent with one-on-one tutoring using the Orton-Gillingham approach, which breaks down reading and spelling using multisensory skills like sounds and hand motions. The other half of the session is spent on STEM-related projects.

“The STEM activities include everything from kitchen chemistry to rocketry to robotics to coding,” says Gauthier.

That could mean making slime, building model rockets, or operating an underwater robot, she says. It’s hoped that field trips to the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and the Smithsonian could be part of the curriculum in the future as well.

While the program is starting with 11 students, the expectation is that it will have 20 students by early next year. The pilot program will run until at least May 2023.

About 20% of the population has some form of dyslexia, according to statistics from the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity. Yet, many school systems haven’t adapted to help these students and private tutoring can be prohibitively expensive, explains Symone Walker, co-chair of the Arlington Branch NAACP Education Committee.

She believes this is a big reason why there’s such an opportunity gap at some Arlington schools, including Drew Elementary.

“We really wanted to target a population that has been disproportionately impacted by the achievement gap,” says Walker. “We’re very familiar with how Drew has been historically passed over, looked over in the community, and we wanted to give back where we saw the greatest need.”

Both Walker and Gauthier say that the opportunity and achievement gaps that exist in county schools have a lot to do with reading scores and how schools are teaching literacy.

The Dyslexic Edge Academy will use the multisensory Orton-Gillingham approach to teach reading, as opposed to the balanced literacy approach that’s currently being taught in Arlington public schools.

“When we talk about multisensory, we’re talking about big motions,” says Gauthier. “We actually use something called ‘skywriting,’ which is as the child is actually forming the letter in the air… they’re actually saying the letter, repeating the letter, attaching the sound to the letter.”

What’s more, by bringing cool STEM-related projects into the learning, it helps students gain confidence.

“They really begin to associate something they struggle with, with something they love,” says Gauthier. “It really actually plays into them wanting to read as well.”

As Walker points out, a lot of NASA employees have some form of dyslexia. In fact, that includes more than half of NASA employees, according to the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity.

“We want to produce more Arlingtonians who work for NASA,” she said.

Controversial Dr. Seuss Titles to Remain at Library, But Won’t Be Replaced

By Matt Blitz

Six controversial Dr. Seuss titles will remain in circulation at Arlington Public Library, though they will not be replaced.

On Monday, Arlington Public Library made a statement similar to that of many libraries across the country, detailing how they are dealing with mid-20th century Dr. Seuss titles that depict “harmful stereotypes.” The library revealed that existing titles will stay on shelves.

This comes after Dr. Seuss Enterprises, which controls the rights to the works of Theodor Seuss Geisel, decided that it will cease publication and licensing of six titles because they portray people “in ways that are hurtful and wrong.”

The decision was announced on “Read Across America Day,” which is also the author’s 117th birthday.

Arlington Public Library officials say they will keep these titles in their collection and in circulation “until they are no longer usable.” At that point, due to Dr. Seuss’ Enterprises’ decision to cease publication, they will not be replaced.

The titles are: “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” “If I Ran the Zoo,” “McElligot’s Pool,” “On Beyond Zebra!,” “Scrambled Eggs Super!,” and “The Cat’s Quizzer.”

Five of the titles were published between 1937 and 1955, while “The Cat’s Quizzer” was published in 1976.

According to the library’s online catalogue, each title has between five and eight English-language copies currently in circulation in the library system, plus several Spanish-language editions.

However, all of the English-language titles are currently checked out with a wait list upwards of 39 people.

The library system, in the release, does advise that if these books are being shared with young readers to “consider taking the opportunity to have a conversation about the themes, characterization and the time period a book was published. Then, balance these stories with other diverse titles.”

It’s not a new revelation that some of Dr. Seuss’ works have racist overtones. A number of his works have long been criticized for how they portray people of color.

The decision to cease publication by Dr. Seuss Enterprises has also led to rumors that the author’s books were being banned. Late last month, nearby Loudoun County had to deny such rumors that the county’s public schools were banning his books.

Full statement from Arlington Public Library is below.

Libraries across the country, Arlington Public Library among them, are having conversations about how to balance the core library value of intellectual freedom with the harmful stereotypes depicted in many of what are regarded as children’s classics.

Last week, Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced that it will cease publication and sales of six titles because they portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong: “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” “If I Ran the Zoo,” “McElligot’s Pool,” “On Beyond Zebra!,” “Scrambled Eggs Super!” and “The Cat’s Quizzer.”

Existing copies of these titles in the Arlington Public Library collection will remain in circulation until they are no longer usable. As they are now out of print, these titles will not be replaced when they leave the collection.

In light of this news, it’s worth taking a look at the books of our childhood with a critical eye. We no longer live in the world Seuss lived in when he created these works. If you want to share classics and older titles with young readers, consider taking the opportunity to have a conversation about the themes, characterization and the time period a book was published. Then balance these stories with other diverse titles.

Diversity in publishing, especially in youth literature, has been a topic of conversation and concern in the industry for a number of years. Arlington Public Library intentionally curates its collections to ensure diversity of themes, characters and authors, and systematically reviews the collection for gaps. We invite you to discover new titles and authors through our booklists, catalog and collections.

Photo (top) via Flickr/ayoub.reem

Rosslyn Reads Returns with a Pop-Up Book Sale Tomorrow

By Sydney Hawkins

Over 8,000 books, CDs, DVDs, and vinyl records will be on sale this Saturday (Sept. 26) at the annual Rosslyn Reads Book Festival.

The festival is an annual fundraiser for Turning the Page, a non-profit that aids underserved students in the community. Carpe Librum, a non-profit used bookstore, will be partnering with Rosslyn BID this year to contribute to the fundraiser.

From 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, attendees can buy “gently used” items at a price range of $2 to $6 in Central Place Plaza (1800 N. Lynn Street).

Several procedures will be in place to promote social-distancing:

  • Attendees must pre-register for a one-hour time slot to shop and provide confirmation of registering upon arrival
  • Review Rosslyn BID’s COVID-19 Safety Protocols before registering
  • Those who do not pre-register must sign a waiver before entering
  • A maximum of 50 people will be allowed inside the plaza to shop at a time
  • Masks will be required for all attendees
  • Hand-sanitizer stations will be available at the entrance
  • Attendees will be required to follow a one-way flow of foot traffic

Photo via Rosslyn BID/Facebook 

New Pop-Up Library Open at Ballston Quarter Mall

By Ashley Hopko
1/3

Arlington Public Library has opened its new pop-up library in the Ballston Quarter mall.

The library partnered with the Ballston Business Improvement District to create the mini lending library, which opened earlier this month on the mall’s first floor, above the Quarter Market food hall. Located at 4238 Wilson Blvd, the mall is open Monday-Thursday from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. and on Fridays from 11 a.m.-5 p.m., until Friday, August 2.

The Ballston pop-up features a reading nook called “Alterspace” where users can control lighting, sound effects and color. The technology behind it was developed by Harvard University’s metaLAB and is being shared outside Massachusetts for the first time.

Ballston Quarter’s website says the Alterspace reading nook is “the ideal environment for meditating, reading, collaborating, playing, or whatever activity brings you here!” The space also includes a mobile charging station for phones and tablets.

This is the library system’s second pop-up, following a successful experimental pop-up in Crystal City.

“Although the Ballston Quarter Pop-up Library is only a short walk from Central Library, we are encountering so many people who aren’t aware of the library and its resources,” said library spokesman Henrik Sundqvist.

“Meeting our community where they are — in the mall during their lunch breaks, after school, or during their evening commute — gives us an opportunity to connect new users with library materials, services, and resources, which they may not know are available to them,” he said.

At least one librarian will be on-site in the space during operating hours to help patrons with check outs and new library cards.

Arlington’s Summer Reading Program Could Net Locals Nats Tickets

By Vernon Miles

If you get to work on Arlington Library’s Summer Reading Challenge, you could earn tickets to a Nationals game and other prizes.

The summer reading program challenges children, teens and adults to read for 25 days between June 1 and Sept. 1. Readers can keep track of their progress either on a printed calendar, a library app, or online.

Once they’ve read for 25 days, readers can come into the library and show staff how much they’ve read. They’ll receive a prize and an entry into a grand prize that varies based on their age group.

According to the library website:

Adults, teens and kids in kindergarten and above who complete [the Summer Reading Challenge] will each receive a voucher for two tickets to see the Washington Nationals play at Nationals Stadium.

Seating is in the scoreboard pavilion, upper gallery or right field terrace.

The grand prize for adults is a chance to enjoy a Washington Nationals game from a private suite.

A press release noted that books, newspapers, magazines and audiobooks all qualify.

Several events are planned along with the Summer Reading Challenge, including a visit from Nationals pitcher Aníbal Sánchez to Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Quincy Street) on Saturday, June 15 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. The event description notes that there will be opportunities to take photos and get memorabilia signed.

For each person that completes the Summer Reading Challenge, the press release also notes that the Friends of the Arlington Public Library will donate $1 to provide books for the Arlington County Child Advocacy Center.

Arlington Libraries Scramble for Copies of ‘Fire and Fury’

By Fatimah Waseem

Arlington Public Library is struggling to keep up with demand for “Fire and Fury,” Michael Wolff’s exposé on President Donald Trump’s White House.

With a three-week checkout policy for books, it could take weeks — even months — for patrons to get their hands on a copy.

The #1 Amazon bestseller has 458 holds on 28 copies across the library system as of this afternoon. Nearly 150 people are on the waitlist for 15 audiobook copies and 252 are on the waitlist for 25 eBooks.

But some relief could be on the way. The library has ordered 61 new copies of the book, according to the library catalog website.

By comparison, demand for the #1 New York Times bestseller in fiction, “The Woman in the Window,” is lower. There are 215 holds on 35 copies. The book by A.J. Finn follows the story of heavy drinker who witnesses a crime near her Harlem townhouse.

Wolff’s book — which generated lines at local bookstores upon its Jan. 5 release — has drawn sharp rebuke from White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and other Trump administration officials.

“It’s disgraceful and laughable,” she said at a recent press conference.

File photo

Patrick Henry Principal Kisses Pig At Read-A-Thon Celebrations

By Chris Teale
1/5

Patrick Henry Elementary School principal Annie Turner kissed a pig Tuesday to mark the end of a successful Read-A-Thon at the school.

Turner had promised the students at the school at 701 S. Highland Street that if 300 or more of them turned in reading logs and had read for 500 minutes or more, she would kiss the pig at their final assembly before Thanksgiving.

And the students far exceeded that goal. Patrick Henry parent Christine Brittle, who coordinated the Read-A-Thon, said 360 students turned in reading logs and they exceeded their goal of 500 minutes reading each.

The school’s PTA sponsors the annual Read-A-Thon, which kicked off just over a month ago. Students are challenged to read at least 500 minutes, about 40 minutes a day, and earn prizes for fundraising.

The students read for 263,211 minutes altogether, the equivalent of about 4,388 hours or 182 days.

“I set a really ambitious goal, because we had a really awesome prize and I thought you all could do it,” Brittle told the students.

And so Turner puckered up with Roscoe, a pig that lives in nearby Penrose, to whoops and cheers from the more-than 400 students who assembled in the school’s gymnasium.

The Read-A-Thon also raised more than $22,000 for the school, to be spent on field trips among other things.

“I am so proud of you all for reading so much,” Turner told the students after her encounter with Roscoe. “I hope you continue to read all year and the rest of your lives.”

https://twitter.com/clasedivertida/status/933074210259423233

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