Reader Leader Program

The Bains Lower Elementary READER LEADER Program is designed to promote early childhood literacy by partnering community volunteers with students in order to provide reading support. Each volunteer sets aside 30 minutes every week to work one-on-one with a student to develop important skills such as decoding, sight word recognition, and vocabulary development. They are also, of course, sharing with students the joy of reading for pleasure. Program founder, Stephanie Ferguson, is passionate about reading and knows the importance of helping students develop early reading skills, for reading is the skill upon which all other learning

Bains Lower Elementary is truly grateful for the leadership Ms. Stephanie Ferguson has shown in facilitating the READER LEADER Program, and we are, of course, thankful to all of our parent and community volunteers for their dedication to supporting our students. We also want to express our heartfelt gratitude to the Rotary Club of Saint Francisvelle as well as several private benefactors for their financial support of the program. Their generous donation will help us provide books for summer enrichment to each student participant.

Click here to access the BLE Family Handbook

Baseball Buddies Reading Program

As an offshoot of the READER LEADER Program, the BASEBALL BUDDIES Reading Program pairs West Feliciana High School baseball players with first grade students. The baseball players foster a love of reading with their student BUDDIES by reading with them one-on-one each week. The student athletes cast a remarkable spell on their young BUDDIES, making this weekly reading time truly special. We would like to thank Coach Mark Lester and Coach Jonathan Simmons for their vision and leadership in the BASEBALL BUDDIES Program. We also want to extend our deepest gratitude to the West Feliciana High School Baseball Team for serving as role models for our young readers.

Saints Sisters Reading Program

Bains Lower Elementary is pleased to announce the addition of the SAINTS SISTERS Reading Program to our list of volunteer-based reading support programs. Members of the West Feliciana High School Volleyball Team serve as reading mentors for several of our first grade girls. They meet twice per month to help our girls read library books and take AR tests. By fostering a love of reading, these volleyball players are making a life-long impact on their sisters. Special thanks goes to Coach Celeste Thornhill for initiating the program.