SBCSS News and Press Releases

Barton Elementary Kicks Off Reading Buddies Program

2011-02-14

SAN BERNARDINO - The San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, in partnership with Horace Mann Insurance, Faith Temple Church and the San Bernardino City Unified School District, will have its inaugural Reading Buddies program at Barton Elementary on Feb. 17 at 8:30 a.m. The volunteer reading program calls on business, civic, community and education leaders to commit to reading to students once a month.

Barton Principal Dorothy Fenster, Pastor Keith Tolbert, Joe Guerra and other officials and community leaders will lead a group of volunteers into classrooms of kindergarten, first- and second-graders to read a book for the first time at this school site.

The public-private partnership supported by local business, civic and service groups, community and faith-based organizations has been created and expanded countywide to include school districts, such as Central, Colton Joint Unified, Chino Valley Unified, Etiwanda, Rialto, San Bernardino City Unified and Victor Elementary.

"The Reading Buddies volunteer program is valuable in that it will bring volunteers together to promote literacy and emphasize the importance of reading," Fenster said. "The program will help encourage students to love reading as a life long hobby."

The Barton Elementary program will kick off with an assembly, refreshments and reading at 8:30 a.m. Future Reading Buddies dates for the school are March 17 and May 19, which culminates with a final celebration. All future reading events begin at 8:45 a.m.

Barton Elementary School is located at 2214 Pumalo Street in San Bernardino. Business or community members who would like to join the voluntary reading program should contact Dolores Peters at (909) 388-6534 or Linda Miranda with the County Schools office at (909) 476-6615.