Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

School of Education, Athletics, Driver’s Village Support Otto’s Reading Kickoff for Local Schools

Tuesday, January 3, 2017, By Jennifer Russo
Share
AthleticsSchool of Education

Otto, the Syracuse mascot, doesn’t speak, so it may be difficult to assess how well Otto can read.

But Otto clearly recognizes the value of reading, and a December 2016 visit to Ed Smith Elementary School in Syracuse thrilled the third- and fourth-graders who had scored the highest participation rate in Otto’s Fall Reading Kickoff. The School of Education (SOE), SU Athletics and Driver’s Village in Cicero organized the reading program.

Otto and students at Ed Smith School

Otto helps third-and fourth-graders and Ed Smith School celebrate reading.

“Some of the fourth-graders who thought they were too cool to get excited about meeting Otto ended up being very excited,” says Gerri Berish ’87 G’89, a fourth-grade teacher at Ed Smith. “He was very playful, and kids loved getting hugs from him.”

The SOE invited schools to participate in the one-month program. Students would read at least 20 minutes every night and complete a weekly summary of what they read. They filled out paper footballs to track how much they read and posted the footballs on their lockers and in classrooms.

Otto, photographers from cuse.com and officials from Driver’s Village visited to celebrate Ed Smith’s success and reinforce the importance of reading.

“A couple of students asked me why Otto was visiting and there were all the cameras,” Berish says. “I told them it was because they participated in the reading challenge. And they asked, ‘You mean it’s because we read?’ And I told them, ‘Yes, because you read.’”

Teaching reading is challenging, Berish says.  “Students have different reading abilities. We have students who are very below level all the way to students who are reading at high school levels,” she says.

“We also see that our students have very different experiences that lead to these levels”—from homes that encourage reading to homes that don’t to special needs students to immigrant students just learning English.

All but a few of the Ed Smith third- and fourth-graders participated.

“Kids could read whatever they wanted. They read according to their abilities. We have some students reading picture books and others reading 500-page books,” Berish says. A third-grader read the most—2,500 minutes.

SU Athletics provided free tickets for students to the Florida State football game in November. Family members and school staff received discounted tickets. Driver’s Village presented a $1,000 DonorsChoose.com gift card to the school.

“One of the goals of our partnership with SU Athletics was to create an engaging, educational incentive for Syracuse schools. Otto’s reading program exceeded our expectations, and we were proud to offer a prize to the top school, helping them to purchase the tools necessary to facilitate their students’ reading,” says Ken Ellender, a marketing specialist at Driver’s Village.

With the gift card the school will purchase 15 Amazon Fire tablets and headphones and two charging ports.

Berish says a key concern is the needs of English as a New Language (ENL) students.

“Some students come from places where they did not have many of the same materials we take for granted here, and some had a very limited educational experience before moving here. So having students with little to no English, it is very hard to teach them higher concepts when they cannot visualize some basic places or objects.”

She teaches content subjects that involve much writing, in paragraphs and essays. She envisions the ENL students using tablets with programs that teach basic concepts, while higher-level students, who finish assignments quickly, use tablets to conduct research or use an app that challenges them.

The attention Otto paid the school emphasized the value of reading.

“For some students, I think they saw that reading is highly valued. It is not just something that the teachers say they need. For the students who are voracious readers, I think it just confirmed what they already knew, that reading is important,” Berish says.

  • Author

Jennifer Russo

  • Recent
  • Arts and Sciences Hosts Inaugural Scholarship and Research Gala
    Friday, May 9, 2025, By Sean Grogan
  • Chancellor Kent Syverud Honored as Distinguished Citizen of the Year at 57th Annual ScoutPower Event
    Thursday, May 8, 2025, By News Staff
  • New Maymester Program Allows Student-Athletes to Develop ‘Democracy Playbook’
    Thursday, May 8, 2025, By Wendy S. Loughlin
  • From Policy to Practice: How AI is Shaping the Future of Education
    Thursday, May 8, 2025, By Christopher Munoz
  • Kohn, Wiklund, Wilmoth Named Distinguished Professors
    Thursday, May 8, 2025, By Wendy S. Loughlin

More In Campus & Community

Arts and Sciences Hosts Inaugural Scholarship and Research Gala

The College of Arts & Sciences (A&S) kicked off a new tradition for recognizing A&S faculty excellence and achievements from over the past year with its inaugural Scholarship and Research Gala. The May 1 event was held in the Schine…

Chancellor Kent Syverud Honored as Distinguished Citizen of the Year at 57th Annual ScoutPower Event

Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud was recognized by Scouting America, Longhouse Council, as the Distinguished Citizen of the Year at the organization’s 57th annual ScoutPower dinner. The annual fundraiser is one of the biggest scouting events in the nation and…

Kohn, Wiklund, Wilmoth Named Distinguished Professors

Three Syracuse University faculty members have been named Distinguished Professors, one of the University’s highest honors. The designation is granted by the Board of Trustees to faculty who have achieved exceptionally distinguished stature in their academic specialties. The newly named…

Syracuse Athletics Records Highest APR Score in 4 Years

Syracuse University Athletics continues to demonstrate its commitment to academic excellence, as shown in the latest release of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Academic Progress (APR) data. The University earned a single-year score of 989 (out of 1,000) for the…

SOURCE Enables School of Education Undergraduates to Research, Explore Profession

Through a research project funded by the Syracuse Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement (SOURCE), School of Education (SOE) seniors Denaysha Macklin ’25 and Emma Wareing ’25 are continuing research to investigate barriers women of color face in advancing…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.