Kindling the fire of learning

LYNN – It was impressive when, as a 17-year-old high school senior, Aaron Rothbard raised $2,000 to buy digital microscopes for the Ford Elementary School, but Principal Claire Crane said it’s downright remarkable that, as a college freshman, Rothbard has done it again.”He raised $4,000 and gave it to us for, ?whatever’s next,'” Crane said. “He is the nicest kid.”This time Rothbard had help. His cousin, a junior at Pingree School, also pitched in so Rothbard could double his previous year’s effort.Crane used the money to purchase 36 Kindles because the technological ramifications of the digital book readers are far reaching, she said.Special needs teacher Dave Romanowski said with the Kindles students can not only read books but can hear them read aloud as well. The e-reader also gives students access to a website where they can hear what individual vowels and consonants sound like.”This is huge for our ELL (English language learners) kids,” Romanowski said.Crane said she knows Rothbard is a technology buff, so it seemed right to spend the donation in that area, and e-readers is an area she has wanted to explore.”I really think that is the direction libraries are going,” she said. “I would never get rid of books, but I really think you need both. Kids need those options.”Rothbard’s mother, Evelyn, said her son and Salter were thrilled with the decision.”Aaron was so excited,” she said.Rothbard was not much older than the students he is helping now when he first came to the Ford School. The Marblehead teen was a fourth-grader at Cohen Hillel Academy when took part in a long-running partnership that pairs academy fourth-graders with Ford School kindergarteners as reading buddies.Later Rothbard would tutor students in math, a tradition he carried on right through high school. Now a freshman in Boston College’s Carroll School of Management, Evelyn Rothbard said her son wanted to continue his bond with the school.”His inspiration is really the school,” Evelyn Rothbard said.She said as her son was planning the fundraiser, he was looking for a way to make it bigger, that’s when Salter offered to help. Evelyn Rothbard said Salter was also a reading buddy and math tutor at the school.”Now he does Saturday tutoring,” she said.Crane said she wasn’t sure the Kindles were the way to go, so she got up before sunup on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, and stood in line at Radio Shack to purchase one Kindle.”I had to see if they would work with everything we have,” she said.Once it was determined the students could use the Kindles to participate in the online curriculum the district uses, like the “First in Math” program, Crane negotiated a price and purchased 35 more.Students in Shannon Gunderson’s fourth-grade class took turns last Wednesday reading about Martin Luther King Jr. on the Kindles. Students swiped through the pages like pros.Evelyn Rothbard, who was joined by her sister Ruth Salter, watched the students navigate the Kindles. It is exciting to watch them actually use the technology, she said.”The Kindles were a great choice,” she said.When asked if the boys plan to keep up with the fundraising, Evelyn Rothbard said absolutely.”They raise it through a March Madness 50/50 fundraiser,” she said referring to the college basketball playoff event. “They’re already gearing up for this year.”