3rd-grader gets up to speed with alacrity

When Emily Oliver started the third grade last fall, she couldn't read a word.

She didn't know the alphabet. She couldn't write her name, do addition or subtraction. And she only knew her numbers up to 9 — numbers that were found on a TV remote control.

But Wednesday Emily and more than 50 other students from around Davis District walked away with awards for making the most progress in their schools.

Prior to this school year, Emily had not even set foot in a classroom. She had been raised in a transient lifestyle, but after her mother died last year she was adopted by DeAnn and David Oliver.

DeAnn Oliver said it was a tough decision placing her in the third grade when she was at a preschool level.

From the beginning, not only did Emily have to catch up academically at Lakeside Elementary in West Point, she had to learn classroom protocols that were second nature to her classmates — the bells, lining up and lunchroom procedures, said Emily's teacher, Liz Batchelor.

"At first I was afraid; I thought there is no way she is going to make it in third grade," Batchelor said.

Emily hit the ground running. She worked with literacy specialists each day along with volunteers. She attended a private reading program after school and she did hours of homework each night.

David Oliver said he never had to remind Emily to do homework and it wasn't uncommon for her to spend more than two hours a night.

Now she is reading just barely under grade level, she's writing — and she is writing in cursive. She knows her times tables and how to add and subtract.

And Batchelor said she has no doubts that by the end of fourth grade Emily will be among the tops in her class.

"The biggest help for Emily was herself — she has more determination and love for learning than any student in the class," Batchelor said. "It's because of her that she has accomplished this."

Along with a certificate and a book, award winners were also given scooters from Barton Scooters as gifts.

"I had problems reading as a child," said store owner Robert Barton, who has donated scooters to the most improved readers in the district for the past six years. "I wanted to do something that would encourage reading and I love giving these to the kids."

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E-mail: terickson@desnews.com