Literacy in kids is important

Sheila Matthews' passion is literacy and reading, and the Ridge Spring-Monetta Elementary/Middle School teacher said in jest that she has to sometimes remind herself to teach a little math once in a while to her second-graders.

Matthews was surprised and excited over her recent selection as the Aiken County School District's distinguished teacher of reading and attended a state conference with other district winners. She gave a presentation to members of the Aiken County International Reading Association (ACIRA) Thursday.

The strategies of teaching reading have changed dramatically during her 23-year career, she said.

"It used to be reading workbooks and drills and practice," Matthews said. "Now they're reading literature and writing journals and talking to somebody else in the class about their favorite part of a story or book."

A native of RS-M High School, she graduated from Winthrop University and got her first teaching job in Edgefield County. However, she was anxious to return home to RS-M Elementary/Middle.

Matthews has taught first and second grade and spent five years as a literacy coach before returning to the classroom. The coaching experience helped her develop her own skills further, and five years ago Matthews decided it was time to apply those strategies with her own students again.

"A lot of our kids don't have books or see their parents reading," she said. "I hope I'm teaching them the value of reading. After the first two weeks of school, I also start making parent contacts by phone. I want to let them know I care."

ACIRA members are proud of Matthews and her representation of the district at the state conference, said the county organization's president, J.D. Lever Elementary teacher Rebecca Dixon.

"She has a lot of energy, and her kids can't help getting fired up, too," Dixon sad. "Her enthusiasm is contagious."

District administrators have made literacy the focal point of classroom instruction, and Dixon would like to see more teachers and other educators join ACIRA, which can provide them with a variety of resources.

Kimberly Jump will become ACIRA's secretary in 2010-11 - unusual in that she is a USC Aiken senior who will graduate in May. She is participating in a student internship at North Aiken Elementary School.

"It's a honor to still be a student at USCA and to be recognized for just showing up and caring," Jump said of her ACIRA involvement. "There's such a wealth of knowledge here with the people I get to meet."

For more information, e-mail Dixon at rdixon@aiken.k12.sc.us.

Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.