"I don't remember ever deciding to become a teacher-I always felt that I was a teacher," says Margaret Swann, a reading specialist at Greenbush Elementary School in West Warwick. As the oldest child in a family of five children, Mrs. Swann started reading aloud to children very early on. Her emphasis on parental participation as a crucial element of reading development has led her to the creation of several workshops for parents which promote reading as a family activity. When the town library closed due to lack of funds, Mrs. Swann initiated a book-bag loaning system that allowed students to take books home on a weekly basis. Every day Mrs. Swann evaluates her own achievement, asking herself not only "have my students progressed in their reading abilities," but also "have I increased their love for books?"
