Local teachers create program to inspire young readers

If you are a parent, teacher, or librarian struggling to find ways to motivate young children to read, three local teachers may have some of the answers you are seeking in their newly released book Personalized Reading: It’s a Piece of Pie. Nancy Hobbs, Kristen Sacco and Myra R. Oleynik will visit the Peters Township Public Library on Sunday, December 11 from 1-3 p.m. to discuss the PIE program featured in the book.

The three highly experienced teachers, one of whom is a school librarian, have found that the best way to encourage children to read isn't by offering them prizes through point systems. By showing elementary students the benefits of books through the PIE program—Personalized, Independent, Enrichment—teachers, librarians, and parents can motivate them to keep reading for the best reason: they've learned to love it. Utilizing the PIE program will teach students to make selections at an appropriate reading level, expand from choosing titles in the same genre or from the same author, and recognize and abandon a book of low interest to them. Within each chapter are explanations of the theories behind each step and practical ideas that teachers and librarians can implement collaboratively in the classroom and library. Parents will discover the top ten ways to help their children self-select books and how they can help to foster a love of reading in their children.

To attend this program register online, visit the circulation desk, or call 724.941.9430. Copies of Personalized Reading: It’s a Piece of Pie, normally sold for $35, will be available at the event or to order for the special price of $25, cash or checks made payable to “Friends of the Peters Township Public Library.” Coordinating with the PIE-theme for that day, the library will also be hosting a Gingerbread House Making Contest with The Pie Place during that afternoon from 1-3 p.m. Call the library at 724.941.9430 for further details.

Nancy L. Hobbs is a third grade teacher in the Peters Township School District in Washington County, PA. Hobbs is a former elementary school administrator in both Indiana and Pennsylvania, and has taught grades K through 6. Hobbs earned her master's degree from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, and her doctorate in administrative and policy studies from the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.

Myra R. Oleynik is K–3 library media specialist for 800 students at Bower Hill Elementary School, Venetia, PA, recently named Outstanding Library Media Center by the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association. Oleynik is also K–5 library media specialist in the Peters Township School District, Washington County, PA—a role she has had for 15 years—and was an elementary classroom teacher for 13 years. She holds a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Grove City College, Grove City, PA, and an MLS degree from the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA. Oleynik is a Keystone Technology Integrator and Pennsylvania Teacher Excellence honoree.

Kristen M. Sacco is a third grade teacher in the Peters Township School District in Washington County, PA. She has seventeen years' experience teaching in both Pennsylvania and Nevada, and has been an elementary school guidance counselor in the Las Vegas, NV area. Sacco earned her bachelor's degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA, and a master's degree in elementary school counseling from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV.

Local author’s book reveals presidents as students and teachers

A new book by professor of education and chair of the Education Department of Washington and Jefferson College explores the student and teaching experiences of presidents and first ladies from George and Martha Washington to Barack and Michelle Obama. Dr. James McMurtry Longo will premier his new book From Classroom to White House: The Presidents and First Ladies as Students and Teachers at the Peters Township Public Library on Saturday, December 10 from 10-11:00 a.m. A book signing will follow the event. Seating is limited and registration is requested. To reserve your seat, please register online, visit the library circulation desk, or call 724.941.9430.

During his more than a decade of research, interviews, and travel, Longo discovered that few White House residents made model students. President Eisenhower, who was not always the best student, once wrote, “One cannot always read a man’s future in the record of his younger days.” Teachers reported that John F. Kennedy could “seldom locate his possessions,” found George H.W. Bush “somewhat eccentric,” and dubbed a sixth-grade Bill Clinton “a motormouth.” In addition to chronicling the school days of these historic figures, this volume also relates their teaching experiences, the educational issues they addressed during their White House years, and the intricacies of education at their time in history, providing an informative overview of American schooling over time.

Half the presidents and first ladies taught, but Professor Longo believes that if by some magical time machine all the presidents and first ladies could be transported back to their days as students - they would be a teacher’s worse nightmare. Stu Bryer of WICH radio in Norwich, Connecticut has called the book “fascinating” and a “must read”. Another reviewer wrote, “This is a book that gives hope to any parent of an underachieving child – and a big tip of the hat to teachers that make a difference in a student’s life.” Bill Bertenshaw from WOR Newsradio in New York said, “Great book…hard to put down…I learned more about history and the presidents and first ladies from this book than all the history classes I took in school.”

Dr. James McMurtry Longo is an award-winning teacher, storyteller, Fulbright scholar, and Chair of the Education Department at Washington and Jefferson College. He grew up in St. Louis, majored in History at the University of Missouri in St. Louis, worked as a public school teacher for over a decade, and earned his doctorate in education from Harvard University.

Longo has taught on three continents where he has lectured on the educational experiences of White House residents from Austria and Brazil, to Costa Rica and England. This is his seventh book. His previous book, Isabel Orleans-Braganza-The Brazilian Princess Who Freed the Slaves, was nominated for Yale University’s Frederick Douglass Book Prize for the “Most outstanding non-fiction book in English on the subject of slavery and abolition.”

Download Free Music from Freegal

The Peters Township Public Library is offering you a way to add to your music collection for free through Freegal Music .Once you register at the library with your valid Peters Township Public Library card, you can download 3 songs per week for free.

Freegal Music is an online database that provides access to songs from Sony Music. The music files are DRM-free and do not expire, and the songs are compatible with PCs, Macs, iPods, iPads and other MP3-compatible devices. Offering over half a million songs to download in all types of music genres including classical, country, rock, jazz and pop, Freegal adds new music daily to the collection.

“By providing our patrons online access to Freegal, we are able to offer them a broad range of music that they can pick and choose from to add to their personal music collection,” said Pier Lee, Library Director. “Like our eReaders and Playaways available for checkout, this is another free service we offer so our library patrons can experience the latest technology - at no cost to them.”

To register for your free subscription to Freegal, bring your valid Peters Township Public Library card with you to the Reference Desk on the second floor of the library. A staff member will process your request and, once you have confirmed your account via email, you can begin adding songs to your own collection. For more information, call the library at 724.941.9430.