For two Carbondale elementary schools, a new partnership with Carbondale Community High School is bringing an extra spark to reading time. Once each month, high school students travel across town to sit beside younger students, open books together, and share something powerful: the simple joy of reading.

The program, known as Story Time with the Terriers, connects high school volunteers with students at Parrish Elementary School and Thomas Elementary School. The goal is to support early literacy while building relationships that help younger students see themselves in the older students who visit their classrooms.

Dr. Kari Kilquist, principal of Parrish Elementary, says the impact of the program was visible almost immediately. She explained that even the youngest students quickly became excited about the visits. “Our kindergarten, first-grade students, and even our pre-K students get so excited to see the high school students,” she said.

Parrish Elementary serves students in Pre-K through first grade, including two self-contained special education classrooms. Once a month, about twenty high school students arrive and spend roughly two hours in the building, rotating through classrooms in thirty-minute blocks.

During those visits, the high school students (Terrier Readers) work with small groups of children on reading activities. Some students practice reading aloud together, while others focus on vocabulary, comprehension, and discussion about the stories they read.

Kilquist said the program is especially helpful for students who benefit from extra encouragement while learning to read. The intention, she explained, is to focus on students who may need additional support, but teachers make sure that every child has the opportunity to interact with the high school readers. The visits take place during the school’s scheduled reading intervention period, allowing the extra support to fit naturally into the school day.

Kilquist said the relationships forming between the older and younger students have already become meaningful. Even after just a couple of visits, some children have begun asking about their high school reading partners by name and asking teachers to let them know how well they are doing in class. The younger students want their mentors to know that they are working hard and improving.

Across town at Thomas Elementary School, which serves second and third graders, the program has generated the same kind of excitement.

Dr. Kimberly Barton, principal of Thomas Elementary, said the visits have quickly become something students look forward to. She explained that when the Terriers arrive, the younger students see older kids they admire—students they think are cool—spending time with them and reading alongside them, which naturally builds enthusiasm for reading.

At Thomas, the high school volunteers rotate through seventeen classrooms, including second- and third-grade sections as well as a self-contained special education classroom. Like at Parrish, they visit classrooms in thirty-minute sessions.

Teachers have noticed how engaged the younger students become during these visits. Barton said that whenever she walks through the building while the high school readers are there, she sees them sitting closely with the children, listening carefully, and helping them stay engaged with the story.

Barton believes the program supports reading development in several ways. Hearing older students read helps children develop fluency and comprehension while also building attention and stamina for longer texts. She explained that educators often encourage families to read with their children each night because hearing expressive, fluent reading helps students understand what strong reading sounds like. Programs like Story Time with the Terriers give students additional opportunities to experience that kind of reading support.

The program is part of a broader literacy initiative across the Carbondale school district. Through partnerships between schools and community organizations, the district is working to strengthen reading instruction and provide additional support for students.

At Parrish Elementary alone, nearly 480 students participate in the program’s activities in some way during the monthly visits.

Kilquist said the collaboration between the elementary schools and the high school has been one of the most encouraging aspects of the initiative. She described the partnership as an amazing collaboration that is making a difference not only through reading support but also through mentorship and pride in learning.

The program began earlier this year and is scheduled to continue with monthly visits through the spring, with hopes that it will grow and continue in the future.

For now, the sight of high school students sitting beside younger children with books open between them has already become a highlight of the school month. For the younger students watching those older role models read, the message is simple and powerful: one day, they can be Terrier Readers too.