KIHEI - Kihei Elementary students and parents are packing in by the hundreds to launch the first Read Aloud America program on Maui, The Maui News reported Monday.

"Never before have we had such a great turnout for a program at our school," said Kathy Barr, a Kihei Elementary teacher and the Read Aloud America coordinator on campus. "We touched many families . . . hopefully the energy and excitement for the program will continue, helping us attain our goal of building generations of lifelong readers."

Approximately 600 parents and students showed up when Read Aloud America was launched during the last week of January.

"It's fantastic," said Ayako Johnson, a Kihei Elementary parent and Japanese immigrant who considers English her second language. "That's why it's so hard for me. I try to get as involved as I can for my daughter so she can read well."

Read Aloud America, also known as RAP, has been promoting reading and reading aloud since 1995 in schools across the state, with more than 140,000 children and adults participating. Kihei Elementary's first crowd last month reached approximately 600, and the same number may show up again Tuesday night for the second of six sessions scheduled through April.

Johnson said she's attended other family programs at Kihei Elementary called Literacy Night and Math Night. Both events are sponsored by the school and provide information on how students are taught reading and mathematics in their classrooms.

"This is much better," Johnson said, of Read Aloud America, saying it offers tips on how she can directly help her children.

RAP is also attractive because its participants - both young and old - are served free pizza and prizes.

For the first night of Read Aloud America, parents and children are separated, with the students going into individual classrooms where volunteer readers read age-appropriate stories to the children. Meanwhile, the parents remain in the cafeteria to listen to the program's founder and board Chairman Jed Gaines talk, among many things, about the value of reading.

"It gets them to open up, think and discover who they are," Gaines said.

No one disagrees with Gaines.

"It's good for the kids," said Larry Laird, past president of the Kihei Sunrise Rotary Club. Laird and eight other Rotarians from his club have committed to serve as volunteer readers during Read Aloud America sessions.

"Any time you can expose children to a new learning experience that's nonthreatening, it's a good thing. This involves the ohana, the library, drawings for prizes. . . . It presents reading in a fun, relaxed way."

Read Aloud America has five goals:

* Encourage parents and teachers to read aloud to children regularly.

* Provide resources to help parents and teachers choose books and read to children.

* Demonstrate the pleasure of reading and its relevance to daily life.

* Nurture a love of reading in parents and awaken a love of reading in children.

* Encourage families to limit television, computer and video time, and to read more.

Third-grade teacher Rodney Wade and several of his colleagues volunteered to serve pizza and support the program.

Wade said his most successful students are those who like to read.

"They're more interactive. They can create more images, and they're just more successful in the classroom," Wade said. "I think it's key to learning. You've got to read to learn."

Gaines, who lives in Honolulu, tells parents to read with enthusiasm, and while his program provides lists of recommended books, he tells parents they should read whatever they enjoy. "If you like it, the kids will probably like it," he said. "Have fun with it."

Gaines encouraged parents to take their time to read and talk about the stories they read to their children. "You don't need to race. Just go with it and just read."

* Claudine San Nicolas can be reached at claudine@mauinews.com.