As we walk out the doors of the Newberry County Literacy Council, we can feel that summer is arriving and know too that parents will be looking for ways to keep their children active and intellectually engaged.

The Council, as it has for the last three years, is sponsoring a children’s summer camp at St. Matthews Baptist Church through June 20. Camp time is from 9 to noon and includes an academic component (reading, writing, math, and science), character education, recreation, and games. Breakfast and lunch will be served. Contact the Literacy Council office at 276-8086 for more information.

We hope all parents will make reading an important part of their children’s summer. Although the Literacy Council’s mission is to improve literacy for adults, we recognize that the issue of adult literacy is rooted in childhood and adolescence. If we can make every child a learner and reader, we will not need special programs for adults. This takes a community effort involving parents, schools, adequate funding, and support programs. We know that schools alone cannot ensure successful education.

Several weeks ago Gallman High School held a reunion for all of its past students. Barbara Chapman, the executive director of the Literacy Council, and I decided to drive over to that neighborhood and we stopped by the site of the Drayton Street schools to look at the brick memorial to the principals, teachers, and students at Drayton St. High.

This was the black high school in days of segregated education, replaced by Gallman High in 1954. The Gallman students began attending Newberry High in 1970 and Ms. Chapman was in that first group. This history reminds us of the struggles and challenges communities have faced in providing equal and quality education for all students.

The Supreme Court ruled in 1954 that segregation in schools was unconstitutional, but it took many more years before integrated schools were the norm. This issue of quality education for all is still with us today as evidenced recently by the South Carolina Supreme Court ruling in the case involving the “Corridor of Shame.”

Even though the schools need support from parents and community in providing a quality education for students, the schools are the central piece in promoting literacy. It is proper that we recognize and honor teachers and principals, such as those on the Drayton Street marker, for their efforts to provide quality education during the era of segregation. And that appreciation should extend to principals, teachers, and staff today who plan and teach and support our children’s education. No job is more important than educating the next generation of workers, entrepreneurs, leaders, and citizens.

The Literacy Council’s People’s College will be taking a summer break after a very successful first year of college-like seminars. We had our last class of the spring term Monday night. We capped off our class by reading from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. We read several different scenes out loud, including the famous balcony scene and the tragic death scene, savoring the beauty of the language and then discussing the relevance of the story today.

In keeping with the traditions of Shakespeare’s time, when men and boys played all the roles, I read some of Juliet’s parts. All were in agreement that I was not a very persuasive Juliet. We also agreed that the story of the star-crossed lovers still resonates with us today and that the road to love can be rocky even without feuding families.

Look for announcements sometime in August of our fall schedule for the People’s College. The Weekly Readers, our book club, will continue to meet each Tuesday morning at 11 during the summer at the Literacy Council offices on Caldwell Street. Currently we are reading a biography of Michelle Obama.

We are considering Lilies of the Field as our next book so please consider joining us. The Council also will continue to offer tutoring in reading and math over the summer so come on by. A final thought — let’s make this a summer of reading for all of us, children and adults. Visit the library, join a book club, read with your children. And, until next time, happy reading.