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Scottwood Elementary Celebrates Literacy Every Month
November 2, 2021 -- When you walk into Scottwood Elementary School, you can’t miss the television monitor suspended from the ceiling right outside the main office and the image on the screen. What’s often projected is the graphic released last April about the District’s vision centered around students leading the way and the six pillars that every Columbus City School student will embody by the time they graduate. One of those pillars is communication which is celebrated once a month at Scottwood in a big way.
“How many of you have won the monthly essay contest more than once,” asks Principal Kerri Myers. A slew of hands flies up. “More than twice,” Myers asks the students who have gathered in the school library. Several hands remained raised.
“I made it my mission when I became the principal at Scottwood to create a culture of literacy,” said Myers. “I taught writing in middle school, but when I came to Scottwood as a principal, I saw that there was not a culture of writing here. Thanks to a wonderful literacy coach and the librarian, we changed all that. Now students brag when they get to check out three library books at a time.”
The culture of literacy at Scottwood goes way beyond checking out books from the library. Every month, the school selects one book that is read school-wide, followed by essays students write based on the text they read. October’s book was Milo’s Museum by Zetta Elliott, an empowering story of a little girl who goes to a museum and is surprised to learn of all the valuable and important items in the museum. Nothing in the local museum represents her African American history, so she creates her own museum.
“The writing assignment for the students at Scottwood was to write about the items they would put in their museum and why,” said Literacy Instruction Coach Mary Welch. “This writing assignment helps students communicate and express themselves when it comes to being represented and seen.”
Every month, at least two essays from each grade level, first through fifth, are selected as the month’s essay contest winners. The student’s writings are posted on bulletin boards throughout the school, including the one right under the monitor by the main office. Contest winners are also treated to a free pizza lunch in the library to celebrate. While enjoying their personal pizzas, students take turns reading part of their essays.
“I love to write because, with your words, you can make so much happen in your story,” said Kinsey Marie Williams, a Scottwood fourth grader. “You can develop characters and fantasize what happens to them.”
Nine-year-old Kinsey Marie uses advanced vocabulary and has no trouble articulating her thoughts and ideas about what would be in her museum. After all, she has been a winner of these monthly essay contests since she was in the first grade.
Principal Kerri Myers loves that there is no empty seat in the library as these young writers and readers are celebrated. She encourages all students at Scottwood to not only pick up a book but grab a pencil and piece of paper too, so all students start working on mastering communications skills in elementary school.