Reading Program Gets Visit From Miss Connecticut USA

Who is that young woman with the sparkling sash on? And what is she doing at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School?

The young woman, the newly-crowned “Miss Connecticut USA,” is Regina Turner from Old Saybrook, a 21-year-old dental hygiene student at Tunxis Community College. She took some time out of her June Miss USA pageant preparations to visit the Senior Buddy Readers program at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School on Wednesday, May 11.

Turner walked from group to group in the school’s library, which consisted of a student student and an adult buddy (not necessarily a senior citizen, however) and observed the learning process. 

“I love working with kids and reading is definitely important,” Turner said. “It’s fun to interact with them. They look up to you so much. [They] realize anything is possible.”

About Senior Buddy Readers

The Senior Buddy Reader program began 10 years ago, when Meriden resident Cathy Lewis's niece was having reading difficulties and had to repeat a grade.   

While attending a meeting at a local senior center, Lewis and Meriden parent Donna Mordarski came up with an idea. The two quickly realized there was an untapped resource in their midst – the town’s senior citizen population. Here was a wealth of wisdom right in front of them, with so much to offer and time to share their talents and experiences. The idea was formed and within the year, the “Senior Buddy Reader” program was born.

“We were two single moms with no budget,” said Lewis, Senior Buddy Readers program coordinator and co-founder. “Everything was donated – books, the space, volunteers.”

The program is unique and intergenerational, as it pairs older adults, usually retirees, with first- and second-graders who are identified by their teachers as needing additional reading assistance.

The program currently runs in four of Meriden’s elementary schools – Benjamin Franklin and Nathan Hale, with first- and second-graders; and Thomas Hooker and Hanover with the first-graders. Most of the students in the program are considered middle readers, who read to their senior buddy, giving the child extra support and help foster a love of reading. The program allows classroom teachers to spend more time with the students who need more reading support, while making sure the middle readers are not left behind.

“It’s a nice thing for the middle readers,” said Dan Coffey, Benjamin Franklin Elementary School’s principal. “They go to the same reader every week – they build a solid relationship.”

The co-founders worked with school principals and teachers to make sure the senior buddies were working in the same manner as the class curriculum, including re-telling of a story, working on spelling words and reading comprehension. Volunteers receive training on how to use the strategies employed in the schools to help children improve their reading skills. Senior buddies work with the children in 30-minute rotations.

“For me, it’s a treat,” said senior buddy Paul from Meriden. “They [the children] do more for us than we do for them.”

Paul has been part of the program for about six years, and currently visits two schools a week, working with three children at Franklin and two students at Hooker.

“It’s a fun program, if you like kids,” said Paul. The program helps children realize reading can be fun and helps boost self-esteem, he added.

While many school systems are stripping away early literacy and learning programs, this one continues to thrive, said David Radcliffe, Executive Director of Meriden Children First, the program’s sponsor organization.

“Buddy Readers is a win-win-win situation – a win for the children; a win for the senior buddies, and a win for our schools,” Radcliffe said. “It’s this sort of early learning investment that helps children have successful school experiences.”

Thanks to its relationship with Meriden Children First, Senior Buddy Readers also forged alliances with the Meriden Board of Education, Friends of the Library, the United Way of Meriden and Wallingford and a number of local civic groups.

To date, more than 75 volunteers work with approximately 200 first and second grade students.