Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
From local leaders and hometown heroes to breaking stories and in-depth conversations, the KMAS Podcast brings you the voices that matter in Mason County, Washington. Hosted by longtime broadcaster Jeff Slakey, each episode dives into what’s happening around the Hood Canal—government, education, small business, the outdoors, and everything in between.
New episodes drop throughout the week, featuring interviews, community spotlights, and extended versions of the stories you hear on the air at KMAS.
Subscribe, listen, and stay connected to your community—wherever you are.
Time now once again to check in with the Shelton School District Superintendent Jessee. How you doing? Doing great Jeff. We are moving into November.
I know that at least with the high school. There's some Midterm things happening now. So kind of maybe a good opportunity for a midterm update on what you're seeing across the district No It's yeah, we are Full swing into this school year lots going on So many stories I You know are you know big thing right now that I get Taking place inside classrooms is just making sure kids are taking books home and getting them read They've got to be reading pretty much 10 minutes for every grade level.
They're in Obviously that taps out at the older grades I'm not expecting, you know seniors to read 120 minutes But you know, we definitely want kids when they're in the secondary level trying to get 45 minutes of reading in per night That can vary for assignments or the books that shows how do you get a student to look for a book that might be one level harder, let's say so they all let's just go with a fourth grader or something like that and They've been reading books last year they were third graders They've been reading books and they had whatever it was dog, man Let's say now they're in fourth grade and the teachers like well, let's bump it up a notch But the kids are still kind of wanting to go back to what they're familiar with Well, Jeff I was at Mountain View this morning and this is exactly the conversation we were having oh my gosh Yeah, what's been trailing along here? So not you know, they have a new principal. They're a principal Ness She comes to us from Tacoma and you know She also used to be in central kids app. So it's we're talking exactly like like I'm like, hey, here's the kids What's the data say? What's their to this point? What's their? In the we call independence level and then what's their instructional level and that's usually exactly the case of like Here's my level and then you go up for the instruction level and sometimes that stretches kids We want them really independently reading their independent level a lot of kids Well, not every kid but some kids do pick books that are sometimes too difficult for them and sometimes too easy So this channel can go both ways Jeff and so we're just really coaching of like, how do you how do you manage that? So you get kids that you have if they're at the lower levels in regards to their age, right? Like so Doesn't doesn't matter.
We want to make sure that they have if they're in lower level They have to have like a lot of books in their book They're gonna go through a lot of books as they get older Then they definitely should have at least two books every kid older levels higher level reading they you wanted to have at least two books because you know when you're not in one book you can grab the other and we do Sometimes assign books that are a stretch for some students in those particular situations because it can read it But they may have a hard time comprehending it and remember reading with those comprehensions and To now, how do you encourage or what? What are the thoughts on the types of books as you're moving towards chapter books? What are the types of books that you in? Courage or discourage? I'm thinking about this as Halloween is next week, right? So if if a kid shows some proclivity to a Scary Stephen King book for example Sure, do you encourage that? Book or do you say that might be a little too scary or to me? I mean to me that it might be a sell on a kid if you say it's too scary They go. Well, I want to find out I don't I don't know how that how that works with comprehension and We're driving on right you're driving on interest and at their reading level So I want I want to get a book in front of them that they're interested in reading So again, I was out at Mountain View this morning and guess what there were a lot of there was a lot of books There were about pumpkins or scary, you know, yeah, but the unit that we're in right now We're teaching some Nonfiction units Specifically about animals and so there's a lot of kids done, you know with those books in hand, too So that's what I was trying to say earlier They got these book baggies, but they're gonna have a lot of books in them sometimes right and we're having to talk about elementary So there's gonna be more books. There would be at older grades But so they got those books Jeff and so then they can read their nonfiction unit But then they can also have a scary book in there so that they can go home and read that as well Yeah, so we you don't have to just get stuck on one thing But because your teacher and your class is talking about this work all day long You're gonna be wanting to read in it so I could engage open conversation and also A lot of those same genres.
So let's say the theme was something about like Realistic fiction but with scary thing, you know with the scary theme to it Then you can talk about all of the literary elements that support those kind of books right suspense suspense or using a lot of very figurative language or scenery to draw in darkness, you know or Character development that you're like, oh, that's super scary. Just do you hear how they describe that person? You know, whatever monster. So I know those are the things that just get people excited the kids excited, right? And so they can have a shared experience and the teacher again can teach on those elements of that genre while maintaining choice For instance because we you know, just like adults They have a preference and what they like to read and I just got to finish with one thing If anybody's listening about what they're seeing look at what their books are reading if they're reading Primarily one kind of genre push them into other areas of reading is one of our ongoing challenges For sure I have that struggle here with my son as we're kind of getting him to read different books or he he says, you know I read in ELA.
So we I don't I shouldn't read at home. I go. Well, that's not that's not how that works We we need to read here and so I kind of pepper him with these books here I go Well, I wanna when I was a kid I used to read this type of series or you know, anything that interests you we can find a book that helps engage that so I gave him a Halloween a ghost stories of Washington small little snippets of stories from around the state, right and I go Well, just try reading one or two of these and so he read him and he liked him and then he said do you want? Me to read you one and I said man, well, I might have picked up on a good genre here Yes, please Because not only him reading silent SSR style but out loud and then us reading to him to all of that Helps is that is that right? That is correct You're falling into amazing teaching and parenting skills all in one right there Jeff You know, I know many the listeners are also like interested in doing that too, you know, so like getting shorting start with this thing What do you like? What's your interest getting the book in front of them reading to your kid, especially again younger readers But as you get older you could share a book Jeff Right, you could go.
Oh, let's let's share a book Let's get two copies of this book and then lets you and I have a conversation about like a book club Yep, like a little mini book club. Why not and it doesn't have to be super deep either you'd be like, hey What chapter are you on like or You know, what do you think? What do you think's gonna happen coming up in this the story or what do you I don't know I hate the supporting character. Yeah, Leslie.
Oh, Leslie's annoying My class I got a Leslie at my work, you know, like you're like it just it just you know You're making text to self connections. You're making connections to each other through the book tying your kid in that's great You can get the audio book for some of those parents out there that want to do it or if it's gonna help your read Your reader get into more books and get it interested in and then my last move is just create it you know, like, you know, like You know older kids read more advanced books. Look how thick ooh, look at that You know Sometimes it's kind of like you want to get their eyeballs to go a little bit bigger and feel a little bit older Again, especially as kids get older.
They want to feel like they're more mature and part of that more quote-unquote You know older teenage or adult kind of Level, you know, look at what I'm reading or what I'm able to read and like, okay first steps first But you know, those are just some of the tricks and you helped Identify a couple of them. That's a good one Those are I you know, I don't think I had ever really thought about a book club style thing for the house here Maybe we'll all go to the local bookstore and and have him pick out a book. We'll get three of them and then And read everybody reads together plus your local librarian whether that's in the school district or Obviously out there Timberland, you know libraries that they'll have it right and so They'll have somebody that knows a lot about books and how to help get your interest for your kid.
Sure Well, I mean all the reading stuff you've been doing again the some of the achievements that we've been Going over a lot here. The third grade reading scores are up a Bunch here about 13 14 percent over the last two years Number one in the state for early for growth and early literacy and a hundred more kids reading and writing compared to the state Average from that as well. So 100 kids right here in Shelton.
Yeah, that's really cool. It is. I mean the weather's turned.
So now it's time for soup and books I think it's a great opportunity to make those connections and Really bring the bring everybody in the family to kind of understand The reading together because you know adults they read but it's different They're scrolling on their phones and comprehension on a on a phone screen is nil. Nobody remembers You know what? They just read compared to a book that you you know read months ago Even if it's on a Kindle is still it's not the same You look into that stuff too. You guys talk about that when you're always we talk about it all the time a lot of research It's been coming out for the last couple of years on that and and you're just saying all the right things Yeah, like a reading a phone or an article whatever.
It's not the same as reading a book And so there's nothing wrong with some articles the old newspaper all that. Yeah, that's great print. That's fine cookbook Hey, if that's what I get it going great, but it's just again don't get stuck on one genre or one format try to find others to reach that and You know when you get into books and there's just so many just vast types of authors and stories lines and Getting lost in a book is where the you build a lot of those cognitive Powers that you got going on in your head Of all these different steps because you just get lost in this whole storyline that you've been reading for let's say a week or two Those start to formulate and make connections to the things that you've read for other places or experiences that you've had so that's that's what that research is gonna say because like you said people just forget the article that is read on or Whatever quick something that came obviously from tick-tock or whatever and not even have to read.
Yeah. Yeah This is not. Yeah, not nearly as as helpful for student learning.
That's awesome. All right. Well, let's leave it with that that was a good conversation today on books and how we kind of Help me help me figure out some stuff for my kids.
So I appreciate that You have a good one, and we'll check back in next week Thanks a ton