Yahoo News: How to create an ‘inky’ environment for teaching reading and writing

By Tony Bizjak, Sun, November 26, 2023

Khatirah Mohammadi, a petite fourth-grader dressed in pink, sat at a small reading table at F.C. Joyce Elementary School, slowly sounding out words in a storybook.

Jessica Seibold, a volunteer tutor, leaned in as well, listening.

“She …cannot… see…the…bug,” Khatirah pronounced. She smiles hopefully, swinging leopard-print shoes beneath her chair. “

”That’s right!” Seibold said. “Good job!”

Khatirah is among thousands of young Sacramentans who are behind their age-group level on reading skills. That number has grown since the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to close and sent children home for nearly a year.

Like Khatirah, who is a recent immigrant from Afghanistan, many of those young readers come from families of lesser means and attend schools such as F.C. Joyce in North Highlands where poverty rates are high.

It’s a critical moment in education. That’s where Seibold’s local Sacramento nonprofit organization comes in, and why it is asking for your financial support this holiday season via The Sacramento Bee’s Book of Dreams program.

Seibold is a volunteer at 916 Ink, a service organization that was founded a dozen years ago by educators, youth advocates and writers, initially to offer a creative-writing program for students.