Books and words. These were two major topics of discussion at the Early Literacy Summit seminar, held in Alumni Hall Nov. 7, 2017. The seminar was for students in the educational field and the purpose of the seminar – learning how to incorporate reading and vocabulary in the classroom in a more versatile fashion. There were various national speakers from Scholastic, their mission being “to encourage the intellectual and personal growth of all children beginning with literacy.”

Each speaker drew attention to the importance of vocabulary and books in the classroom setting.

The Laurel Highland School District and Intermediate Unit One, an educational agency, partnered together to form a “Community Innovation Zone Grant.” Part of the grant included partnering with some form of higher education – this sparked interest in Eric Gaydos, director of federal programs, assistant curriculum director and director of food services, by searching for a way to “get the ball rolling” for an event that would benefit the education majors at Waynesburg.

Gaydos pursued a partnership with Yvonne Weaver, chairperson of the education department which made the event possible.

“The ball just rolled into what we had [today], and I thought it was just wonderful,” Gaydos said.

Scholastic, being a major outlet for books is more than just that, from Gaydo’s perspective.

“It’s one thing to buy something from a company but it’s another thing to really develop a rapport with that company to see how we can help each other,” Gaydos said. “This is one of those opportunities – working with Scholastic who is renowned in the education field – they’re more than just books and I don’t think a lot of people know that.”

Gaydos stated that Scholastic’s platform is also integrating the professional development field with their company label.

“They are really pushing into the professional development field,” Gaydos said.

Gaydos had different intentions for his future, prior to stepping into the education field – that is until he found his love for children. Gaydos originally started in meteorology. He got into a college pediatric research program called Thon, at Penn State University.

“Through that, I found my passion of working with kids,” Gaydos said. “I made the phone call to my parents – fortunately I have very supportive parents and they said ‘do what you feel is best’ and I never looked back.”

Gaydos has had an impactful journey with his educational career and enjoys his position as an administrator.

“I am very thankful, it’s been a wonderful journey and I love what I do. It feels good to have an impact on the students and student learning and teachers in an administrative position,” Gaydos said.

Care in the classroom not only benefits the teacher, but the students and families involved, according to Gaydos.

“To be a teacher, you have to care first,” said Gaydos, “you need to develop partnerships with the families. You can’t do it all on your own in the classroom and you have them for eight hours a day, they’re at home for the rest, so you need to find those ways to partner with the families to make them feel a part of the process.”

Gaydos said it is important to develop a relationship with the family in order for the child to succeed.

“Whatever your vision is for your school or for your district, it has to be shared with the parents – the parents have to be a part of that vision in order for the child to succeed.”

According to Gaydos, literacy is an important aspect in the classroom, in addition to the parents developing a foundation to their reading skills at home.

“The importance of early literacy cannot be ignored,” Gaydos said, “it’s important that we get that message out that reading to your child and embedding it into your daily routine will expose them to more vocabulary and they will be more inclined to be successful and on-level entering kindergarten.”