As the first day of the new school year quickly approaches, parents and students may be wondering what more they can do to ensure academic success this school year. The Cumberland County Public Library is here to help you and your child reach academic goals and fulfill needs for the 2023-24 school year.
The best way to start is to set a routine. A routine makes it easier for students to manage their time efficiently and create a school and home life balance. Educational experts recommend children read 20 to 40 minutes per day, preferably around the same time of day.
Setting achievable, measurable personal and academic goals is another way to help your child excel. These goals can be as simple as reading more or moving up to a higher AR level by the end of the grading period. What really matters is that you and your child can track these goals, and that the goals are clearly defined and not vague so that you know when you have them.
Surround your child with books and other reading materials and take something to read wherever you go, even when traveling. This will help your child become more familiar with books them and make them easily accessible.
For beginning readers, it is best to start with books that have very few words per page and then move up gradually to help them gain confidence. Easy Reader Books and Hooked on Phonics are available through the Cumberland County libraries to help build foundational reading skills.
The library has free online resources to help with academic success. We offer tutoring for all learners on Brainfuse through HelpNow. TumbleMath is a great resource to help students struggling with math. It has animated, talking picture books that teach math skills and includes quizzes, lesson plans and a Math Tracker.
Older students can benefit from the LearningExpress Library. This resource helps users prepare for college admissions and occupational exams, explore future careers, and practice for state and federal exams such as the GED, the armed services aptitude test, or citizenship exams. They may also find the live tutoring available on Brainfuse a valuable tool to help master a wide variety of subjects such as algebra, chemistry and social studies.
All these resources are yours for the price of a library card: free. But the support offered by the library can be priceless.
For more information about these and all other library programs and services, stop in at any of our eight locations, call 910-483-7727 or visit cumberlandcountync.gov/library.
Kristen Kelly is youth services manager at the North Regional Library.
