Lenox Elementary School Featured in Newsday for Winning NYS PARP Program Award
The Baldwin Union Free School District is excited to announce that Lenox's “Discover a New Universe with Books” PTA Pick a Reading Partner (PARP) program has been selected as the 2018 winner of the New York State PTA PARP Award and the 2018 Nassau Region PARP Award.
Because the daily activity of reading strengthens communication skills in children, the PTA PARP program encourages a "partner" (e.g., parent, grandparent, babysitter, older sibling, cousin, friend, etc.) to read with a child for at least 15 minutes daily, stressing the fact that reading is fun and informative. PARP aims to cement the necessary bond between home and school to encourage the love of reading in our children.
“The Lenox PARP program had a creative theme with each activity tying into it so well," explained Gracemarie Rozea, New York State PTA president. “The committee was impressed that the program increased participation dramatically this year. They also like that the program had a link to the Lenox alumni base and brought in NASA Astronaut Candidate, Jasmin Moghbeli. The Lenox program truly encouraged students and their families to read in a fun and exciting manner while promoting lifelong reading.”
PARP was developed in 1978 by the late State Senator James Donovan, Chairman of the State Senate Education Committee. In 1987, the New York State PTA assumed the program’s helm and administered it since.
“Congratulations to Lenox Elementary School for receiving the New York State PTA PARP Award,” said Dr. Shari L. Camhi, Superintendent of Schools, the Baldwin Union Free School District. “At the Elementary level, a program that encourages our children to read every day is vital for developing lifelong skills and a love of reading. Lenox’s leadership around the county and state will have a positive impact on all of our Baldwin students for years to come. We are so proud of the example Lenox has set and that their hard work and dedication to our students is being recognized across New York State.”
Read more in Newsday.