Growing up, Leslie Parnell saw her mother support the students in her classes, giving them the skills and confidence they needed to excel in reading and other areas.
"My mom's a school teacher, my mother-in-law's a school teacher, and so I understand the importance of not only education, but reading," says Parnell, explaining how she came to be chairman of Spellebration, an adult spelling bee held to raise money for AR Kids Read. "You know, they say that up until about third grade, you're learning how to read, and then after that you're reading to learn."
When Parnell became a mother herself 13 years ago, she read to her son early and often.
"We read, read, read, and from a very early age he loved reading and wanted people to read to him," says Parnell, business banking and sales executive at Simmons Bank.
Not all children are so fortunate, she realizes.
About four years ago, she committed to tutoring two elementary-aged students at a time in reading, in an attempt to help them read on grade level. She was honored when, some time after that, AR Kids Read Director Kathy French invited to be a part of the AR Kids Read board.
This year, Parnell has added event chairman to her list of volunteer contributions at AR Kids Read, leading Spellebration, a spelling bee for adults that raises money for the organization that partners with public schools.
Spellebration will kick off at 6 p.m. on April 6 at the Heifer Village Pavilion. Tickets are $75.
Kathleen and Jim Cargill will be honored as community leaders during the event, and Barbara Lunon will be recognized as volunteer of the year.
The adult participants will compete in teams. Celebrity spellers include Earle Mayor Jaylen Smith, North Little Rock police officer Tommy Norman, Little Rock Police Chief Heath Helton and Little Rock Fire Chief Delphone Hubbard. Arkansas Court of Appeals Judge Wendy Wood and Little Rock District Judge Mark Leverett will be Spellebration judges and Craig O'Neill and Adam Bledsoe will emcee the event.
Parnell, like her son, Jackson, enjoys reading.
But, she says, "I'm a terrible speller."
That will not get in the way, though.
"It's a really fun evening," Parnell says. "This year's theme is superheroes, so we're going to have some of the kids there with customized capes and we hope to have a superhero that folks can get their pictures made with. It's all about, 'Who was a superhero for you?' And about who can be a superhero for these kids."
AR Kids Read is serving 295 students in 22 schools and after-school sites during the 2022-23 school year, and aims to serve 200 more over the summer.
"The goal is always to increase the participating schools, but with that we have to have the tutors," she says.
There are 175 volunteer tutors this year, providing 2,500 hours of service.
"As we expand it into North Little Rock and Jacksonville, we need to make sure that we have volunteers in that area that can go there, too, because everybody wants to be sort of close to where they live," Parnell says.
AR Kids Read will also distribute 3,000 books this year for students' personal libraries.
"For Christmas we gave books, and the tutors write them little notes," says Parnell, who sat with the kids she tutors and read the books before they left for winter break. "After Christmas, I asked if they read them. It just gives a way to kind of check in and see if they're reading at home as well."
Parnell finds it rewarding to work with the students, sometimes sitting with them to work on sight words and sometimes walking with them around the building, finding letters to sound out.
"North of 50% of the kids who enter the program are found to be reading below grade level at the start of our program," she says. "What these students really demonstrate is an increase in reading scores and the move from below grade level to either at grade level or above grade level -- that's our goal ... to provide them with enough tutoring and mentoring in practice to excel."
AR Kids Read offers training for tutors so she felt prepared going into sessions with the students assigned to her.
"You don't have to be a teacher," Parnell says. "I've heard so many people say, 'I couldn't do that. I've never been a teacher,' or 'I don't know how to teach.' But we're not teaching. We're tutoring, we're supporting, we're providing additional support outside the classroom."
Parnell says she would have volunteered, though, even without the training component.
"I think it goes back to my mom being a teacher and seeing all of the kids that she helped, and realizing that sometimes that help is in the classroom and sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's just a little extra that you can give a child that helps," she says. "I knew I didn't have to be a perfect teacher. It really was going be about the relationship and about the time that you invest in the kids."
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Parnell's title.
Leslie Parnell has been a volunteer reading tutor with AR Kids Read for about four years. She works with two elementary-aged students, helping them reach a goal of reading on grade-level. Being able to read proficiently, she knows, will make it possible for them to perform better academically across the board. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Kimberly Dishongh)