By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

EDGARD – Some of the youngest students in St. John the Baptist Parish have been getting a head start on reading thanks to the efforts of the Rotary Club of LaPlace.

On Monday and Tuesday Sheila Butler and other Rotarians took time out of their days to read to Head Start students as part of the Head Start, Read Smart program.

Butler said she wrote a grant to fund the program, which will serve 193 students in the parish.

“The purpose is to really get students to appreciate reading,” she said.

On Monday the club visited West St. John Elementary School, and on Tuesday it was the LaPlace Elementary and Child Development Center students’ turns. In each of the Head Start classrooms, representatives from the Rotary Club read to the students and then presented each with a copy of the book they read. Butler said she feels giving a copy of the book to each student to take home really sets this program apart from other guest-reader programs.

According to Butler, the schools chose the books to be read and distributed, On Monday, students at West St. John Elementary received a copy of “Lucy and the Bully,” a particularly relevant title given the current problem many schools are facing regarding bullying.