mmilliken@heraldsun.com; 419-6684
DURHAM -- Staffers at Neal Middle School will begin handing out 1,000 free copies of a young adult novel this morning.
The giveaway is part of an event called One Book, One School, One Community. The goal: encouraging students at this high-poverty school to become enthusiastic about reading.
About 30 members of the Durham Rotary Club have become involved at Neal Middle School this year. "No Way Out" by Peggy Kern was chosen by a vote of students, faculty and staff after Rotarians read several entries in Townsend Press' Bluford series and campaigned for their books.
The Rotary Club decided to help Neal last fall because club members were promoting a partnership with the East Durham Children's Initiative. Many Neal students are drawn from the 120-block area where the initiative is working.
Almost 75 percent of the school's pupils qualify for free and reduced-price meals, a commonly accepted poverty measure. Nearly two-thirds of the student body flunked state reading tests last year.
Rotarians and other community members will be on hand today to help pass out books, to participate in readings of it and to present a grant check for the program.
Sam Miglarese is president of the club and was one of the book campaigners. "All the Rotarians were surprised," Miglarese said of himself and others who read the Bluford series "candidates." "The books were engaging. They really did delve into real urban social situations that really focused on making good choices and all the temptations to the contrary."
"No Way Out" focuses on a high school freshman whose family is desperate for money and who becomes ensnared in drugs.
One Book, One School will run through March 5. The school will hold Friday afternoon DEAR events. (That means "drop everything and read," and it applies to everyone in the building.) On Mondays, visitors to Neal will read to students from "No Way Out."
The readings, school librarian Valencia Butler Church said, "help students with literacy because it helps them with their fluency. Hearing good reading is good for students."
Neal has ordered more than enough copies of "No Way Out" for every student, staffer and teacher. The school is trying to give them to parents, fire fighters and police officers in the Neal community.
"Everybody's getting copies," Church said. "We're inviting people in the neighborhood. You can have a copy!"
The One Book, One School project -- a cousin of the Durham Reads Together public library program held last year -- is not the Rotarians' only involvement in Neal. Club members are donating supplies, tutoring and giving talks about their careers and hobbies.
Club member Carver Weaver, a Chamber of Commerce employee, is coordinating the Rotarians' work at the school.
"How many times do these kids get to talk one-on-one with career professionals?" she asked. "I'm an industrial recruiter -- they don't know what I do or how I got there. But you know what, I went to Durham Public Schools too."
Weaver said she hopes that the Rotarians' work will pay off next spring in higher test scores. She also hopes her club inspires other community groups to get involved in schools.
"Some of the tutoring opportunities only take an hour a week," she said. "And just an hour a week can make a huge difference in the life of a child."
