Program Links Reading to Riding

The Internet. iPad. Facebook. Twitter. Tweet. Texting. Video games.

And then there’s this old-fashioned diversion known as “the book.”

Several community leaders from Montville and Norwich are pushing an initiative that encourages young children to get into the habit of reading books. It comes at a critical time - as they approach an age when they will be faced with an array of new media competing for their time.

So the deal is this: Read books and have an opportunity to win a high-end bicycle. The program is called “Read to Ride.”

“Teachers, parents and principals should be proud,” said William “Billy” Caron, a town councilor who is a leader of Read to Ride Inc.

“This gives kids another incentive. Today they aren’t reading like they used to. By the time they get into middle school, they’re getting into various forms of electronic media.”

Caron said the response in all three Montville elementary schools has been enthusiastic, as it reportedly has been in nine elementary schools (including two parochial schools) in Norwich. A formal version of the incentive program started in 2009, the year Montville became involved.

 Here's how it works: Children in grades one through five submit weekly reading logs. A parent and a teacher must verify each entry. The amount of weekly reading time required increases as a child matures. For Grade 1, it’s 40 minutes; for Grade 2, 60 minutes; Grades 3 and 4, 80 minutes; and Grade 5, two hours.

Each entry goes into a pool and then, in May, there are drawings to determine who will win $125 Mongoose bicycles. A boy and girl from each grade level at each school win a bike, along with a helmet and lock. With a total of 12 elementary schools participating in Norwich and Montville, that means 120 bicycles will be given away this year.

 Lorilyn Caron (no relation to Billy Caron), the principal of Mohegan Elementary School, said children and parents alike have taken to the program. She said that last year about 95 percent of students in her school participated.

“We’re doing what we try to do every day and this is one way to get kids to buy into reading,” she said.

She said there are ways to encourage children to become involved. For instance, she said, a parent of a student who is involved in karate might have success in presenting that son or daughter with books dealing with karate or other forms of the martial arts.

It all started in Norwich. Prior to 2009, former Mayor Benjamin Lathrop led an informal program that rewarded children for their reading efforts.  Then he decided to make it formal and permanent by establishing Read to Ride Inc., a nonprofit organization. He approached Billy Caron, a friend who is prominent in the Montville political scene and is considering a run for mayor.

 Lathrop decided on Montville rather than another town, he said, because the Mohegan tribe provided the seed money to get the program started. Eventually, he would like to see it expand to other school systems in the region.

“It’s all about money,” Lathrop said. “Today, our fund-raising goal is $20,000.”

The program is financed entirely through donations from individuals, businesses, foundations as well as fund-raisers. The bicycles are purchased through Walmart, which has been a benefactor.

“I see a lot of kids who need better reading skills,” Lathrop said. “Take away that iPod and get them into books – that’s the way to get kids to read.”

Billy Caron said many students never have owned a bike. He said this is especially true with poor families.

 “I watched last year as these kids won their bicycles,” he said. “I saw smiles everywhere. It’s inspiring to see that these kids really want to read.”