Charleston Co. schools, RiverDogs partner to encourage students to read

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - For the seventh year, the Charleston County School District and the Charleston RiverDogs will start their second-grade reading initiative on Tuesday.

“Reading Around the Bases” encourages children from 16 schools in the district to encourage growth in literacy while having fun.

Every student will receive a reading challenge packet with a scorecard, tracking sheet and personal baseball card.

To move around the bases on the scorecard, a student must read a certain amount of pages. Special guests from the RiverDogs will visit district schools over the course of the next few months to encourage and engage the students as volunteer readers.

RiverDogs General Manager, Dave Echols, says that working with the district is a win-win collaboration.

“It’s just a great way to help kickstart the school year for the kids; keep that reading, excitement and fun going,” Echols says. “It’s something that the entire staff gets behind and are excited about volunteering at all the elementary schools.”

This year’s kickoff event for “Reading Around the Bases” will be at Sullivan’s Island Elementary School on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. J.P. Sears, a former Citadel star and current Major League Baseball pitcher with the Oakland A’s.

The top 25 second graders from each participating school will be honored at select RiverDogs’ games during the upcoming season.

“They get a break from school when we’re showing up; they’re high-fiving us when we walk through the door, and then we sit down and get them excited about the book we’re going to read,” Echols says. “You see the smiles on their faces and everyone’s looking for hugs and pictures.”

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