In an effort to improve the reading abilities of young students in the area, a group comprised of local and national volunteers recently conducted a reading camp for third-, fourth- and fifth-graders at Pine Mountain Settlement School.

The reading camp is an international program with a branch that comes to Pine Mountain Settlement School to assist students from the Appalachian region, including Harlan County, to read better.

The program is designed to serve struggling readers in their third- and fourth-grade classrooms as identified by their teachers and principals. Reading camp liaisons work to identify children who are at least one grade level behind in reading skills. The camp at Pine Mountain Settlement School focuses on children from Harlan, Bell, Letcher and Leslie counties.

Brandon Pennington, the junior director of the reading camp and a Harlan County native, said volunteering at the camp is a rewarding experience.

“I stay involved in the camp because you become attached to helping these kids grow; yet, you also recognize that you have also grown as a person,” Pennington said. “It’s amazing to see a child who is in the third grade and reads at a kindergarten level leave camp reading at second-grade level. I plan my summers around this camp now.”

Pennington is a graduate of James A. Cawood High School and is currently a student at Transylvania University in Lexington.

During the camp, Pennington said the children go through six learning centers in small groups, where they experience writing, pleasure reading, phonics, encoding and decoding, reading comprehension and reading strategies, which accommodate various learning styles.

“We bring in special speakers, like noted Kentucky author George Ella Lyon and author and storyteller Harriette Arrington, to encourage the children and build their enthusiasm,” Pennington said.

Throughout the duration of the camp, students attend reading workshops, with a total of 15 hours of focused, specialized assistance. Students receive individual instruction in reading basics from certified teachers and enjoy recreational activities with Pine Mountain staff and a host of volunteers. Pennington said the goals of the camp are to help students improve reading skills and to bolster the confidence of these students.

The camp, however, not only involves reading throughout the day but allows children to participate in and experience the amenities that the settlement school has to offer, including hiking and spelunking.

The program was formed by the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington, after they learned that third-graders who have low reading scores are more likely to end up in prison as adults. Teachers from several states, including New Jersey, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania have participated in the camp.