A McReader and a cheeseburger please

OTHELLO — The menu at the local McDonald’s Restaurant is typical of any McDonald’s across the U.S., but the Othello McDonald’s also offers the McReader.

No, you don’t eat the McReader; you do the McReader. The actual term is McReader Night, a night when Othello school students are invited to read at McDonald’s and earn a small cheeseburger meal.

McReader Night is a program that has evolved over the past five years. A group of McFarland Middle School teachers started it when they approached the McDonald’s owner Brian Moreno and asked if he would support a reading program with McDonald’s rewards.

“He said he would do anything to encourage reading,” McReader organizer Tamar Lumsden said.

Moreno, who is in partnership with his father Fernando at McDonald’s, was raised in Othello. He likes to see Othello youngsters succeeding.

“I’m for anything that will help get kids reading,” he said.

That first year, Moreno put up a $1,000 scholarship and donated three Kindles as grand prizes in a reading drawing. The top ten readers in the school’s Accelerated Reader Program from each grade level were entered into the drawing.

This was a great start, but the group wanted more readers to be rewarded. So they moved away from the scholarship and went to a program that rewarded all readers who met their individual reading goals within the Accelerated Reading Program.

The second year, students were awarded coupons for McDonald’s food for their reading. Problem was that very few of the students cashed in their coupons.

“That was when McReader Night was started,” Lumsden said. Students were invited to read at the restaurant. What started out as a Middle School idea soon spread to all ages when middle schoolers started bringing their siblings.

“We didn’t want to turn any students away,” Lumsden said.

This is how it works. When a child from pre-school to second grade reads 30 minutes, he or she earns a small cheeseburger meal. For a third-12th grader the reward is the same, but the readers must read 60 minutes.

Now in its third year, the program has expanded to include adults who read with their child. Adults need to read for one hour to earn the reward.

Lumsden became involved with McReader when she joined the school Climate Committee at McFarland. Back then she was an eighth-grade Language Arts and U.S. History teacher with a passion for literacy.

Now, Lumsden works at Wahitis Elementary as an instructional coach. One of her big concerns with changing schools this year was keeping the McDonald’s partnership alive.

During the first two years, McReader Night attracted 15-30 children per night. A special treat on one of those nights was a visit from Ronald McDonald.

“We were doing it every Monday night, and it was hard to find volunteers,” Lumsden said.

Dr. Chris Hurst, Othello’s new superintendent, has been supportive in growing this program. The goal was to create an atmosphere where students could have positive reading experiences with friends and family.

“With his help McReader Night has become sustainable. We have plenty of volunteers and clear guidelines in place,” Lumsden stated.

McReader Night is a serious endeavor. The participants are expected to read and behave while at the restaurant.

“We also try to make it fun,” Lumsden said.

Corinne Field, a local librarian, can be found most McReader Nights doing an interactive story time in the corner for young students. Supervisors encourage kids to keep reading and even offer to read with them.

There were 19 McReader Nights last year. Only 10 are scheduled this year. Last year’s readers totaled 390. After six McReader Nights this year, the total is 270.

“Three weeks ago we had 74 participants,” Lumsden said.

That was about all the restaurant could handle and still do business. Management had to bring out a couple of office chairs to seat all of the readers.

“It was pretty intense,” Lumsden said.

“It was a tight squeeze,” Moreno said. “But we weren’t going to turn anybody away. The goal is to get the kids to read and feed them.”

Moreno and Lumsden review the program at the beginning of each year to see if any changes are needed.

“It’s gotten a little better every single year,” Lumsden said.

True to his word, Moreno is a great supporter of reading. He’s behind another program at Wahitis. Each quarter, there is a party for the students who attain their reading goal.

The McDonald’s team shows up with cookies and milk or small cheeseburgers. Three weeks ago, they brought enough for 210 kids.