Philadelphia students take part in annual Scrabble event

More than 150 kids will be at the Franklin Institute this afternoon, but the only sounds you’re likely to hear are small tiles clicking into place and the occasional flip of a dictionary page. Philadelphia students will have their game faces on as they participate in the annual Spring into Scrabble event.

NewsWorks spoke with Emily Goss, program coordinator at After School Activities Partnerships, which runs the Philly Plays Scrabble program. Open to all students in Philadelphia, Philly Plays Scrabble is a partnership with the Free Library of Philadelphia that brings students and volunteers together to increase literary, reasoning, dictionary and vocabulary skills.

“We actually have a lot of school teachers,” Goss says of the volunteer base. Most of those who offer their after-school availability to the program are teachers, college students and retired folks, she says. Elementary and middle school students will put that help to the test today.

ASAP organized more than 85 Scrabble clubs last year that drew 1,000 young weekly players. The Spring into Scrabble event at the Franklin Institute is the culmination of the season for the now 5-year-old program.