RALEIGH — As most N.C. public schools prepared to open a new academic year, teachers have temporarily lost access to a key diagnostic tool to evaluate students’ reading skills.

HAMLET — The top two readers in the Hamlet Public Library’s summer reading program, Abi Hadinger and Hailey Locklear, finished more than 1,000 books, collectively, in nine weeks.

HAMLET — The Richmond County Board of Education approved a pair of filed trips, recognized "Special" volunteers and discussed summer programs and a new state-mandated reading assesment program during its monthly meeting Tuesday. 

RALEIGH — A dispute over a K-3 reading contract is heating up after the company at the center of the controversy, Istation, sent a cease-and-desist letter to three people who have publicly criticized a decision to grant the contract to Istation.

ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond County Public Libraries have released their summer schedule. 

RALEIGH — During a Friday, June 28, conference call, the State Board of Education agreed to delay implementing Istation, the state’s newly picked K-3 reading diagnostic tool. The decision, proposed by the Department of Public Instruction, resulted from concerns about a compressed timeline to put the new program in place, train teachers, and start collecting data in the new school year.

RALEIGH — In 2013, North Carolina launched “Read To Achieve," which was supposed to help lagging kids reach literacy by third grade. Six years and $150 million later, the state has seen little success.

A couple of weekends ago, my wife asked me if I wanted to go to one of those big book sales the local library puts on when they realize they have too many books that no one checks out anymore. 

ROCKINGHAM — A handful of kids got a dose of the great outdoors while indoors at Leath Memorial Library Wednesday night.

The sounds of crickets chirping and a fire crackling filled the Little Room, which featured a reading tent, craft table and campsite with hay bales and tents for the library’s Camp-In for Family Literacy Night.