She carefully pronounced each word to classroom volunteer Janice Smith, who would occasionally help Nikita with a tough word here or there, but who mostly just gave the girl an encouraging audience.
"There you go. You keep practicing," Smith told Nikita once she finished.
And with that, the next student in Phyllis Hildebrand's class walked to the back of the room to sit down and read with Smith.
That pattern continued until every student had his or her one-on-one time.
At age 97, Smith is about nine decades older than the first-graders. Every Tuesday morning, she gets a ride to the Glen Rock, Pa.-based school and listens to students read a book to her.
"The kids just love it," Hildebrand said.
And the feeling is mutual, Smith and other seniors said.
In 1995, Smith and a few other seniors began volunteering at the Southern York County school by having students read aloud to them, a program that is done in similar fashion around York County, Pa. schools.
The idea, Southern officials said, is that students may feel less pressured and more comfortable reading to a grandmotherly-type.
