Reading grades improve, love of books grows with the help of Florida's Reading Scholarship

Lindsey Pawlishen was so confident she would pass her love of reading to her daughter that she asked for and received children’s books instead of traditional gifts at the baby shower.

She began reading to Samantha when Samantha was an infant expecting to instill that love of reading.

But Samantha didn’t love reading.

“I didn’t understand it,” Lindsey said, “because everybody said if you read to your kids as soon as they are born, they’re going to be readers, but that didn’t work.”

It would turn out that Samantha’s lack of interest had something to do with the fact she struggled to read. She scored low on the English Language Arts (ELA) section of the Florida Standards Assessments as a third grader during the 2020-21 school year. That made her eligible for Florida’s Reading Scholarship, managed by Step Up For Students.

The scholarship was created to help public school students in third through fifth grade who struggle with reading. Those who scored a 1 or 2 on the third- or fourth-grade ELA section of the Florida Standards Assessments in the prior year are eligible.

The program offers parents access to Education Savings Accounts, worth $500 each, to pay for tuition and fees for approved part-time tutoring, summer and after-school literacy programs, instructional materials and curriculum related to reading or literacy.

Lindsey was told about the scholarship from the principal at Samantha’s school. She applied for the scholarship last summer and was accepted. She used the funds to buy an iPad and downloaded the Epic! app.

Epic! provides digital books and videos for children 12 and under. It suggests books based on what the child is reading and tracks their progress for the parents. It also has educational features.

“It makes it easier for me to read, because if I don’t know what a word is, I can tap on it, and it will sound it out,” said Samantha, 9, a fourth-grader at Imagine School Lakewood Ranch, a charter school in Manatee County.

Samantha is still a grade level below in reading, but she is gaining ground. An A student in her other classes, she has raised her grade this year in literature to a B. Lindsey said she will gladly take that. It’s much better than seeing her daughter feel what she described as “defeated.”

“I was sad for her, because she was getting frustrated, not understanding why she wasn’t picking up reading,” Lindsey said. “I couldn’t figure out how to help her. I felt bad she wasn’t picking up.”

Samantha used to roll her eyes when her mother told her about the adventures she could have by simply reading a book. Now, Samantha goes to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, having discovered the Harry Potter series. She also loves The Baby-Sitters Club series.

Samantha plays defense on a travel ice hockey team, practicing twice a week at a rink an hour north of the family’s home in Palmetto. It makes Lindsey happy to see her daughter with her nose in a book during the long rides to and from games and practices.

When asked what it was like to read before she received the Reading Scholarship, Samantha said, “It was a little bit hard.”

Now, “it’s finally clicking,” Lindsey said. “That is nice to see, because I was always in a book when I was a kid.”

Roger Mooney, manager, communications, can be reached at [email protected].