My Father's Books
Hop On The Gus Bus
Gus Bus Rolls Into Page County
By Alicia Wotring, Daily News-Record - October 10, 2006
Photograph by Nikki Fox
Four-year-olds at the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Day Care Center have a blast playing a dancing game in the "Gus Bus" Monday morning. The bus, which visits schools and daycares, is part of a program to get children reading at an early age. The program's success in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County has spawned a similar program in Page County. Now Page will get its own bus - dubbed "Gus' little sister" by organizers. Little giggles spread contagiously among 3-year-olds on the Gus Bus each time The Little Old Lady saw pants that wiggled or a shirt that shook or a pumpkin head that said, "Boo!"
Gus Bus Coordinator Mike Deaton spared no animation while reading "The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid Of Anything," and giggles erupted into belly laughs each time The Little Old Lady told a haunted item, "You get out of my way. I’m not afraid of you. I’m not afraid of anything."
The Gus Bus is a traveling van that visits schools and daycare centers during the day and neighborhoods at night. A coordinator reads to the kids and, at the end of each visit, passes out books the children can take home to read with their parents.
The program, partially funded by a federal Early Learning Opportunity Act grant, has had so much success in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, it’s expanding to Page County with a second bus, says Project Director Pat Kennedy.
A Baby Shower
Since Gus Bus started, it has made trips to and from Page County, but now Page has its own bus: "Gus’ little sister," Kennedy said.
"When we realized how well received it was … we wrote another bus into the grant," Kennedy said.
The new bus has been circling the neighborhood for about a month. It makes stops throughout Page County, Mondays through Fridays. Because Page County is a rural area, transportation can be a problem for many families, said Donna Whitley-Smith, assistant superintendent for instruction for Page County Public Schools.
"In a really rural area like Page County, transportation can be a barrier … but this way, they come to you. It’s wonderful," Whitley-Smith said.
The new bus gets its own name and a "baby shower" on Saturday to introduce the bus to the community, as well as to raise some extra funds.
The total cost for the program is about $300,000 a year, Kennedy says. That is partially funded through grant money, but Kennedy said that eventually she would like to see the program funded solely through community support.
The baby shower is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Page County High School. Cost is $5 for adults, $3 for children 1 to 10 and children under 1 are free. Children can view other vehicles, such as trucks, cars, motorcycles and the like, which will be on display at the school.
Reading Readiness
Gus Bus grew out of a desire to help children succeed in school, Kennedy says. Studies show that children who are read to before they start school have a better success rate than those who aren’t.
Also, according to state assessments of pre-kindergarten children in 2003, 45 percent of children in Harrisonburg and 25 percent of children in Rockingham County were "at-risk," Kennedy says.
Gus Bus became a way to ensure children are reading and being read to, making them better prepared for kindergarten, Kennedy says.
"We’re getting books into the hands of children and families are reading and [the kids] are more prepared for kindergarten," Kennedy said.
The Gus Bus also teaches reading techniques to parents and child care providers.
"We’re trying to make it an interactive experience so they want to read when they go home," Deaton said.
Children who are read to develop many pre-reading skills, says Whitley-Smith. Learning to read left to right, top to bottom and the association between letters and words all contribute to a child’s success when they begin reading.
"That’s a huge part of what is really exciting about this program," Whitley-Smith said. "This helps show parents and encourage parents to take a few minutes and spend some time with their children."
Reaching The At-Risk
While Gus’ visits to the schools and day cares offer a valuable experience for the children, the "heart and soul" of the program is its neighborhood visits, Kennedy says.
"We’re reaching our most at-risk population."
The neighborhood visits are focused to areas with low income and a high percentage of people who speak English as a second language.
Many of the books on Gus’ shelves are Spanish or bilingual, and the organization is seeking a bilingual coordinator for the Harrisonburg-Rockingham bus.
Although learning English is important, children are encouraged to read and write in their native language, Deaton said.
Coordinators are also being trained to help families find other services for their children, such as health care. And each month, coordinators focus on a health topic, like proper diet or self-esteem.
"We’re trying to an all-around resource for these communities," Kennedy said.
Copyright © 2006, Byrd Newspapers, All Rights Reserved.
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