It's 7:15 p.m. and the halls of Robert J. Burch

Elementary School are quiet. The custodian is busy sweeping the floor of

the cafeteria and the hum of a vacuum can be heard in one of the

empty classes. But walk into the media center and it's like

you've stumbled into a well-organized surprise party. Parents and

their children occupy the tables and chairs, reading alone and to

each other. The computer stations are humming, and fifth grader

Brian Bettis is busy checking out books at the desk.

It's family reading night, the first of its kind in the county

school system.

In a letter to parents, Burch principal Barry James has

invited his school's parents and students to come to the media center

after hours two evenings a month to demonstrate the importance

of reading in everyday life. "Perhaps more importantly, it's

a chance to have fun and invest some quality time in your

children and their education here at Burch," he said.

Last Tuesday, the media center, headed by Pat Perkins

and Jean Allgood, was abuzz with activity. "The parents have

been very responsive," Perkins said. There were families of two,

four or more collaborating on books and computer activities.

Beginning readers sounded out words to patient parents and

accelerated readers checked out the new offerings Perkins had displayed

beside the check-out station.

Family reading night is another example of James' reading

Renaissance. Each morning, Burch students start their day with

30 minutes of silent reading. In the first 17 days of school,

Perkins reported that 5,000 books had been circulated among the school's

students. "That's a lot of books," she commented.

The next two reading nights are scheduled for Nov. 3 and

Nov. 17 from 6 until 8 p.m.

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