West Orange Resident & Educator Publishes Book About Helping Children Learn to Read

WEST ORANGE, NJ – Dr. Jacquelyn Blanton, a 25-year resident of West Orange, had always wanted to be a school psychologist or cognitive psychologist, but when she was in graduate school, she began teaching and fell in love with the profession.

Her book, " It Takes a Village to Raise a Reader : A Vital and Essential Resource to Unlock a Student's Success," is an Amazon #1 New and Top Release for Education and Reading Skills. According to Blanton, child reading proficiency is necessary by third grade.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE FREE TAPINTO.NET NEWSLETTER

Amazon described her book as a “transformational and in-depth research study that formulates a strong case and need for a child's reading proficiency; and how their learning infrastructure and living ecosystem can hinder or promote it.“ The book is meant to modify reading instruction and positively change the educational trajectory and future of children.

Blanton, Executive Director of Early Learning in Orange Township Public Schools, told TAP how she wound up in education instead of psychology. “I thought teaching would give me some experience for when I began my 'real' career as a psychologist. I loved teaching so much that I changed my area of concentration to education and never looked back,” she shared.

While working on her dissertation over five years ago, Blanton discovered that almost two-thirds of fourth graders in the United States are not proficiently literate. She explained, “I have a formula for reading that was developed over time (over 35 years in education). However, I really did not connect the brain, reading and early learning until I worked on my dissertation.”

She continued, “Reading problems are not indicative of my county or state, but nationwide. Knowing that 65% of our children in fourth grade are not proficient readers tugged at my heart and further, I couldn't understand why the alarm bells were not ringing.” Blanton questioned how the United States, one of the wealthiest and richest countries in the world, has a profound literacy problem.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE TAPINTO APP FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS. AVAILABLE IN THE APPLE STORE AND THE GOOGLE PLAY STORE .

She reported, “I learned so much, and I could not keep it to myself -- I needed to unload my brain. Initially, I wanted to write articles or white papers about reading but then decided against it because I did not want readers to see reading as isolated skills or disjointed skills.” Blanton continued, “The impetus for my book was to help readers reconsider how they think about reading development and reading instruction. To change the reading narrative in this country, we must understand what it takes to produce proficient readers. I also wanted to get us out of the mindset that reading begins at five years old when a child enters kindergarten.”

Blanton, a proud member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., is also a member of the Education Committee of the NAACP as well as a host of other professional organizations.

Her advice to parents: “The one thing that I want everyone to know is that reading is a right, afforded to everyone. The time to change the reading narrative in this country is now. We have failed our children for far too long -- decades even, our children deserve better, and we can/must do better.

Blanton has three grown sons, two live out-of-state and one lives in New Jersey.

For more local news, visit TAPinto.net