Clemson coach helping Fort Mill kids train their brains over summer break

Select students in the Fort Mill School District’s Reading Recovery program received 10 free books to read this summer, thanks to the Tigers Read Project.

Tigers Read is a summer reading program sponsored by Clemson University head football coach Dabo Swinney, his wife Kathleen Swinney, and the All In Team Foundation.

Regular reading time during the summer is critical to preventing “summer slide,” or summer reading loss, according to Jamie White, reading recovery lead teacher in Fort Mill. Students who don’t read during the summer can potentially lose a third of their reading growth.

The Tigers Read Project helps make summer reading easier by providing free books that are appropriate for the student’s reading level, she said.

“If they don’t read over the summer, they are not where they need to be when they return to school in the fall,” White said. “I think this might be the summer of Fidget Spinners and I don’t want that. Instead, we want to share the love of reading.”

Reading Recovery is a short-term intervention for first graders who are struggling readers. Specially trained teachers work individually with students in daily sessions during the school year. After a full series of lessons, approximately 75 percent of these students are able to reach grade level standards, White said.

Students who completed the program in the 2016-2017 school year and are successfully reading on grade level were eligible for the free books.

This story was originally published June 2, 2017 at 7:25 PM with the headline "Clemson coach helping Fort Mill kids train their brains over summer break."