Long Beach community leader Frank Newell and second-graders found joy and beauty in reading last week at Webster Elementary School.
Newell, dubbed “Mr. Literacy” for his longtime work in helping children to read, was reading “Maybe Something Beautiful, How Art Transformed a Neighborhood” when he asked youngsters what joy and beauty was to them.
The kids answered: Giving presents at Christmas. Happy parents, and brothers and sisters. Rainbows, trees, flowers. And many said, “Reading a book.”
That brought big smiles to Newell’s face, and to teacher Diana Alonso, principal Matthew Monaghan, counselor Monique Ortega, Rotary Club President Wayne Slavitt and Kate Komatz, head counselor for the Long Beach Unified School District. Also smiling was Owlie, the Rotary Club’s reading program mascot who entertained kids crowding around the wise owl.
Rotary member Frank Newell reads to teacher Diana Alonso’s second-grade class at Webster Elementary as part of Long Beach Rotary’s new program, “Rotary Reads One Book.” (Photo courtesy of Kay Cofield)
Rotary member Frank Newell and teacher Diana Alonso’s second-grade class at Webster Elementary pose in front of a colorful outdoor mural at the school like the ones described in the book, “Maybe Something Beautiful, How Art Transformed a Neighborhood.” (Photo courtesy of Kay Cofield)
Frank Newell reads to second-graders at Webster Elementary with the help of Owlie, the reading program mascot for the Rotary Club of Long Beach. (Photo courtesy of Kay Cofield)
Frank and Margie Newell received the State of the Foundation award from the Long Beach Community Foundation on Oct. 8 for their longtime philanthropy and volunteer services. (Photo courtesy of the Long Beach Community Foundation)
Frank Newell reads “Maybe Something Beautiful, How Art Transformed a Neighborhood” to second-graders at Webster Elementary as part of Long Beach Rotary’s new program, “Rotary Reads One Book.” (Photo by Rich Archbold, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
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Rotary member Frank Newell reads to teacher Diana Alonso’s second-grade class at Webster Elementary as part of Long Beach Rotary’s new program, “Rotary Reads One Book.” (Photo courtesy of Kay Cofield)
Twenty-eight years ago, Newell and the Long Beach Rotary Club, created “Reading by 9,” a program aimed at helping youngsters read by the time they were 9 years old, or in third-grade.
Since then, Newell, an attorney and past Rotary Club president, and other club members have raised more than $1.5 million to give more than 400,000 books to Long Beach kids, schools and libraries.
Last week, Rotary Club members, at their weekly lunch, raised almost $150,000 among themselves in a remarkable 15 minutes for the reading program.
Teaching underserved youngsters to read, Newell said, is an ongoing challenge.
“There is a strong correlation between being able to read by 9 years of age and being successful in life,” he said.
Reading by 9 focuses on giving books to kids from underserved areas who may not have many books at home, reading to kids, providing teacher literacy grants for innovative literacy programs, and supporting other programs and nonprofits with programs designed to assist children to read by age 9.
Newell said he was amazed and pleased at how the program has grown.
“When I started 28 years ago,” he said, “I thought it would be a one-year program. But it has grown beyond my wildest dreams, thanks to the work and support of many people who want to help kids to read and succeed.”
Newell was born in Tacoma, Washington, where his father, a Long Beach native, was a golf pro. When that didn’t work out, his father moved back to Long Beach when the younger Newell was 3. His father was a top golfer in Long Beach and served as head golf professional at Skylinks Golf Course for 25 years.
The younger Newell told the Webster second-graders last week that he went to second-grade at Birney Elementary, where he loved to read books and newspapers, especially sports news. He then went to Washington Middle School and Poly High before earning a bachelor’s degree at Cal State Long Beach and a law degree at USC.
He met his wife, Margie (née Atherton) Newell, at the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain, while each was on vacation. They got married in 1976 and recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
Newell went on to become president of the Long Beach Bar Association, a founding member of the Grand Prix of Long Beach’s Committee of 300, chair of the Long Beach Economic Development commission, president of the Rotary Club and president of the Long Beach Community Foundation.
His wife was a special education teacher and longtime member of the Rancho Los Cerritos Foundation board. She and Frank are longtime philanthropists. Together, they both recently received the Community Foundation’s State of the Foundation award for their outstanding service in the community, including supporting the Press-Telegram’s Send-a-Kid-to-Camp program.
Frank Newell and the Rotary Club, meanwhile, recently created a new program, “Rotary Reads One Book,” aimed at eventually getting at least one book into the hands of every elementary grade student in Long Beach every year.
The pilot program, which started last week, had 25 Rotary Club members reading to second-graders in 16 classrooms at five schools: MacArthur, Naples, Roosevelt, Twin and Webster.
They each read “Maybe Something Beautiful,” written by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell, and illustrated by Rafael Lopez. The book was selected with the help of school district staff. There is also a district-approved follow-up lesson plan for use in the classrooms.
Based on a true story, the book describes how a student, Mira, learns how art can inspire a neighborhood.
Lopez, an artist, and his wife, Candice Lopez, a graphic designer, did just that in East Village near downtown San Diego. They led the community in painting wall murals, benches, utility boxes and even sidewalks. They crafted mosaics around trees.
Each student in the five schools in Rotary’s pilot project will receive a copy of “Maybe Something Beautiful.”
It was a beautiful start to another project in Rotary’s continuing and impressive program to help youngsters read.
Give Frank Newell and the Rotarians an A-plus for helping kids on their journey in reading adventure and learning land.