Four Charles County judges recently traded in the courtroom for the classroom when they brought the Reading & Robes program to J.P. Ryon Elementary School. A community outreach initiative of the National Judicial College, Reading & Robes promotes literacy and civic education among children.

Judge Monise Brown of the Charles County Circuit Court has participated in the program before. While attending a judicial conference in Cambridge, she took time to read at a school.

This is the first year for Reading & Robes in Charles and Montgomery counties, Brown said, and the second year the program has been held in Maryland. It didn’t take much convincing to find colleagues at the Charles County Courthouse to join her Tuesday, Sept. 10, at Ryon. When Brown floated the idea to her fellow judges, they were all on board to volunteer.

She could only take along three — the other four would have to stay behind to cover the courthouse.

Joining her to read at Ryon were Circuit Court Judge Donine Carrington Martin, who has volunteered with the Reading & Robes program in the past and reading program rookies District Court Judge Patrick Devine and the Honorable H. Jay West, administrative judge of the Charles County Circuit Court. At Ryon, the four would read “Turning Pages: My Life Story,” by Sonia Sotomayor, a Supreme Court justice, to students in Ryon’s third-grade classrooms.

“The Reading & Robes program focuses on Title I schools,” Brown said, adding that visiting third-grade classrooms is a conscious choice. “Third grade is a very important year for reading.”

Third grade is a pivotal year in a child’s education, particularly when it comes to mastering literacy, according to the National School Boards Association. It is the year where students go from learning to read to reading to learn.

The judges read the book, and if the students are comfortable doing so, they can volunteer to read a page or two. The program isn’t limited to reading, students get to ask judges questions about the judicial system.

“It’s amazing to see how much more they know about the world than you might think,” Brown said. “So, it’s important we debunk any myths they have about the judicial system and encourage them to advocate for themselves.”

Reading at Ryon
Brown connected with Wanda Proctor, community school coordinator at Ryon, last spring about bringing Reading & Robes to the school. “Wanda Proctor was instrumental in pulling this all together,” Brown said.

Proctor said she is always looking for ways to support the goals of Ryon’s administrators and staff while strengthening bonds between the school and community. 

“It is vital we build relationships and connect our community leaders, businesses and faith-based organizations to our school, students and families,” Proctor said.

Community Schools — Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) has 10 — provide students and families with access to academics, health services, mental health support, crisis support, adult education classes and other services.

About a week before the Sept. 10 visit from the judges, each third grader at Ryon received a backpack from the Reading & Robes program with a copy of “Turning Pages,” and “The Highest Tribute: Thurgood Marshall’s Life, Leadership, and Legacy,” a children’s book by Kekla Magoon, along with swag like a water bottle and gavel-shaped stress toy.

Reading & Robes is an initiative of the National Judicial College with the Maryland program made possible through a grant from the Maryland Bar Foundation and the American Bar Association Education Fund as well as other partners. On Sept. 10, other reading programs were taking places around the state in Baltimore, Annapolis, Takoma Park, Silver Spring, Rockville and Mitchellville.

About CCPS

Charles County Public Schools provides 27,765 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 38 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.

The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Mike Blanchard, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (students) or Nikial M. Majors, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (employees/ adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, MD 20646; 301-932-6610/301-870-3814. For special accommodations call 301-934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.  CCPS provides nondiscriminatory equal access to school facilities in accordance with its Use of Facilities rules to designated youth groups (including, but not limited to, the Boy Scouts).