The Dictionary Lady
Mary French Wants Every Third-Grader to Own a Dictionary

By Michele Norris and Jody Hassett

July 28 — When it comes to reading skills, South Carolina has one of the country's more dismal track records.

Almost half of South Carolina's fourth graders read well below their grade level. That does not sit well with Mary French, a 44-year-old mother of two who has made it her mission to get South Carolina's struggling readers excited about words and books.
"They're limiting their world," said French. "They really don't go very far, they don't travel very much."

So most days French rises before sunrise, has breakfast with her husband and children, then loads heavy boxes of dictionaries into her car.

After planting a quick kiss on her husband's cheek, she begins a trek that can take up to six hours roundtrip, as she visits several of the state's struggling elementary schools.

Her plan — now in its sixth year — is to put a dictionary in the hands of every third-grader in South Carolina. So far she's given away 300,000.

‘Children Crave Words’

The approach might seem simplistic in an era when far more sophisticated approaches to literacy prevail, until you realize that many of the third-graders French encounters do not have a single book at home — let alone a dictionary.

"We give them the skills here, but if they don't have the resources to follow through at home, it renders it null and void," said Dorothy Hamm, principal of the Weber Elementary School.

The belief among South Carolina's educators is that this novel approach is working.

"I can say with tremendous confidence that this is a part of what's making a difference here in our school district and I believe throughout our state," said Steve Hefner, a school superintendent in Columbia.

The dictionaries — funded by local Rotary Clubs and small grants — might be a small investment. They retail for less than $5 each. But the return is priceless, their giver says.

"Children crave words when they're in the third grade. They're expanding their frame of reference. You cannot learn about the world without learning about words and the limit of their language is the limit of their world," French said.

French's dream has always been larger than the state of South Carolina and soon her wish will come true. She's just been asked to help start similar programs in 42 other states.