An American reading professional called on teachers and specialists in Bermuda to initiate commercial partnerships to promote reading tutorship.

Rebecca Olness, a member of the Board of Directors for the 90,000 member International Reading Association, admitted she knew little about Bermuda's specific literacy problems.

"But I do believe most of our successes and challenges are universal,'' she said.

Mrs. Olness talked about partnerships initiated by educators because commercial ventures do not often approach and assist reading programmes on their own.

She also said the community should make reading as conducive as possible for today's children.

"The (reading) experience must be extended into the community lives and the community must be extended into the schools lives,'' she said.

She noted in low-income situations it is close to impossible for children to access high-quality literature and foster the will to read.

Public areas are victim to poor lighting, graffiti covering signs in disrepair and lack of proper, if any, seating.

Research shows such public areas, sometimes overwhelmingly prevalent in certain areas, are simply unsuitable to foster reading, Mrs. Olness said.

She said tutoring programmes facilitate a communities well-being and could fight against problems that often plague low-income families more so than middle- or high-income families.

In a US programme called SMART (Start Making a Reader Today), community members are used as reading tutors.

She said big business is often willing to assist reading programmes but teachers must initiate contact with solid plans.

She highlighted similar programmes where employees leave work for an hour during the day to tutor students in the schools.

The employee is still paid for the time they teach because the time-spent was part of the entire company effort and sponsorship.

Those interested in assisting Bermuda's young readers can contact the Bermuda Reading Association at 236-9000 extensions 4212 or 4204.

Rebecca Olness