Our Community Reads – A Collaboration with Wayne County Schools
Our Community Reads, founded in 2005 by Derek Poole, is our school-based program partnering with 9 of the 11 school districts in Wayne County. Our Community Reads aims to enrich education for children by fostering a love for books and reading. Literacy Volunteers of Wayne County works with participating schools and teachers to provide evidence-based reading activities for children and families. Reading Rounds by professionally trained readers are held weekly, in Pre-K through 5th Grade classrooms in most cases. Several districts also host Family Fun Literacy Nights, exciting reading events for the whole family with a book giveaway for kids. This setting also gives parents and caregivers examples and tips they can use when reading to their own children, and their very own books to practice with at home.
Mr. Poole at a Back-To-School event
Reading Rounds
Mrs. Ryder reading during an event
Reading Rounds are a part of the weekly operations of Our Community Reads. Our Trained Readers will visit a Wayne County School with their weekly schedule, going from classroom to classroom reading to the students in the classes they’re assigned to. Our trained readers carefully select titles from week to week that they not only connect to, but also have themes and tactics to keep the readers engaged. We schedule the same days and times each week for each school in order to provide consistency for the students and build an anticipation towards reading.
Family Fun Literacy Nights
Family Fun Literacy Nights are events hosted in the schools we read in, to provide the students with an opportunity to bring their families for story time, and provide them with a gift of a book (or two!) to take home and practice reading themselves.
Family Fun Literacy Night at Lyons Elementary School
How can you help?
Donate!
Donating to our programs is a fantastic way to contribute. Donations to the Our Community Reads program will go towards sponsoring weekly reading rounds, and getting books into the hands of students!
Become a Trained Reader!
Our Trained Readers help carry out our Reading Rounds in our schools. We provide training for our Trained Readers. We are currently looking for more readers across all of our schools in Wayne County.
Mr. Poole’s Reading Tips!
Mr. Poole's Reading Tips 1: Making Predictions
Boost Your Child’s Reading Skills with Predictions
One of the best ways to engage young readers and build comprehension skills is by making predictions while reading. When children actively think about what might happen next in a story, they strengthen their critical thinking, problem-solving, and inference skills—all essential for becoming strong, confident readers.
Why Making Predictions Matters
- When kids predict what will happen in a story, they:
Stay engaged and curious about the book - Connect previous events to what might come next
- Strengthen their ability to understand story structure
- Develop reasoning skills by using context clues
How to Encourage Predictions
Making predictions can be simple and fun! Try these easy ways to get started:
- Before Reading: Look at the cover and title. Ask, “What do you think this book is about?” or “What clues do you see in the pictures?”
- During Reading: Pause at key moments and ask, “What do you think will happen next?” or “What would you do if you were this character?”
- After Reading: Reflect on the predictions made. Ask, “Were your predictions correct? What surprised you?”
Keep It Fun!
There are no wrong answers when making predictions—encourage your child to think creatively and explain their reasoning. This small habit can turn reading into an exciting adventure and help build a lifelong love of books!
📚 Try it out today! The next time you read with your child, ask them to predict what will happen next and watch their imagination grow.
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Mr. Poole’s Reading Tips are developed by Derek A. Poole M.Ed. Derek is the Director of Education for Literacy Volunteers of Wayne County and the Founder of Our Community Reads, an early literacy initiative that promotes learning through literacy and a love for reading. The program is designed to provide and model best practices for children and their families throughout Wayne County. The program is entering its 17th year. Currently, the program reads to over 3000 students per week in 9 School Districts.
