‘Very dedicated’: Bethel Park students celebrate reading accomplishments

Literacy lives on at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, thanks to incentives for students to trade less-product pursuits for learning what’s inside books.

“The Accelerated Reader program has been a tradition here at Bethel Park School District, and I’d say that Lincoln always really took it to another level,” school librarian Milana Popovic said. “The students here, they work really hard. They’re very dedicated.”

Accelerated Reader, provided since 1986 by Wisconsin-based education technology company Renaissance Learning Inc., serves as an educational tool to monitor and manage a student’s independent reading and comprehension. And at Lincoln, youngsters receive plenty of rewards for participating in the program.

For example, Principal Jay Johnson hosted a special breakfast to honor students who met their Accelerated Reader goals for the second academic quarter. Participants received certificates of achievement, and they took home commemorative pencils and bookmarks.

To wrap up the 2023-24 program, the school held its second annual Accelerated Reader Walk. On a sunny May morning, students joined with family members and folks from the Bethel Park community — teachers and retired teachers, administrators, police officers, public librarians and friends — for a mile-long stroll around the adjacent AHN Sports Complex at Cool Springs.

When they returned to Lincoln, the youngsters were treated to Rita’s Italian Ice and a visit from the Wild Thing mascot from the Frontier League baseball team in Washington. Speaking of which, many of the students attended that night’s game as special guests of the Wild Things.

Lincoln’s afternoon kindergartners had their own special experience. During their walk, they visited The Sheridan at Bethel Park assisted-living facility at Cool Springs, featuring a story time during which residents read to them.

The day of celebration included two assemblies organized by Popovic. The first focused on the importance of reading, and Heather Anderson, youth services librarian at Bethel Park Public Library, spoke about the offerings there for children.

“All summer long, we are just so excited to host the kids of Bethel Park,” she said. “We have all kinds of programs and events, almost every single day.”

Among those coming next month are:

• National Sugar Cookie Day, 2 p.m. July 9, for kindergarten through sixth grade. Learn to outline and flood with royal icing, with a summer beach theme design. Younger children are asked to be accompanied by an adult.

• Adventures with Brittie the Traveling Spider, 1 p.m. July 19, for kindergarten through fourth grade.

Meet the author and illustrator of the Brittie Spider books, Cindy Dongiovanni Tomsic, and learn the inspiration behind the stories. Copies of their books will be on sale afterward. Register beginning July 1.

• Art Box, 1 p.m. July 20, for kindergarten through fourth grade. Art teacher Michelle Kirk will conduct the activity. Register beginning July 1.

The second assembly featured a show by Pittsburgh Puppet Works to wrap up the Accelerated Reader festivities.

“It’s a whole community event to celebrate our kids and celebrate their accomplishments throughout the year,” Popovic said. “They worked hard, and you can see their excitement. That’s what it’s all about, is reading and excitement.”