CHAFFEE TEACHER WINS NATIONAL AWARD FOR HER READING PROJECT

CHAFFEE -- Nancy McGrew's efforts to get students and residents of this community excited about reading have earned national recognition.

McGrew's Chapter 1 remedial-reading program, called BEAR (Be Excited About Reading) was among 105 winners selected for the U.S. education secretary's Initiative Award.

She will receive her commendation May 8 as part of an International Reading Association convention in Las Vegas.

The winning programs represented different areas of education, not just reading, McGrew said. "That's why there are so many winners: there are so many different areas."

She said the common thread among all the winning projects was "proven effectiveness and involving parents in a child's education."

"That is a lot of what our program is about," McGrew said.

Learning to read in Chaffee includes lots of parental participation and help from many members of the Chaffee community.

McGrew has taught 23 years at Chaffee Elementary School. "I've really been interested in parent involvement for the past six or seven years," she said. "I finally came to the realization that I couldn't do it all myself; I needed help from everyone: students, parents, teachers and the community."

Her efforts have paid off. Parents and community members participate actively in the reading program.

Outlines of all the winning projects, including the one in Chaffee, will be published in a booklet and made available across the country, she explained.

"That's what this program is based on," McGrew said. "It's to show other schools some programs which have proven effective and give schools information to start similar programs in their communities."

But she said the national honor is nice recognition for her work.

"Just the first one, the state award, was exciting enough. I was very shocked to be named one of the national winners," she said. "We got a call here from the U.S. Office of Education. And it's not too often that you get a call from Washington, at least not as a school teacher."

She said winning programs often come from large school districts with larger staffs and more resources than Chaffee.

"This shows little schools can do it too. An award like this is real good for our school," she said. "And it's good for the people in the community. Really it's due to their contributions that this award is possible."

While her in-school remedial-reading program continues strongly, McGrew with the local public librarian is starting a community-wide literacy program for adults in Chaffee.