Our school provides learners with their first school experiences. We are home to students in 4K-First Grade. The students at our school come from diverse family backgrounds, such as diverse cultures, families with a member in the military, or with ranging socio-economic status. All students in our building are enthusiastic learners. They embrace every opportunity to self-select books and engage in reading.
We LOVE that our students have a passion for reading and learning from books.
Students use books to explore new ideas and express their interests. Our students are so proud to show us when they can identify with a character in one of the books they’re reading!
Visiting the library to select books is a highlight for our children. It’s common for students to find a book they enjoy so much, they check it out repeatedly throughout the year. Imagine a young student borrowing the same book 12-15 times! Many children stop in the library multiple times throughout the day. Once a student shared, “I like to read my book during snack time and then return it so that when I get home, I have a new book to share with my family.”
My Project
The books from this project will provide our students with increased access to reading opportunities at home. Our school library is our community’s only library - there is no public library in our small town. There is a BookMobile, but unfortunately it stops in neighborhoods with higher socio-economic status and is not easily accessible to families of lower socio-economic status. Access to the books will be equitable for all of our students.
The books will be shared with families throughout the school year and over summer break.
Unlike traditional library books, families will have the option to keep the books to build their home libraries. Having access to summer reading can eliminate “summer slide.” A prominent research study from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, showed that children who don't read over the summer can lose two months of reading development.
The books will depict diverse characters and stories and be written by diverse Authors and Illustrators. We want to ensure that our students are able to see themselves in books. We also hope that they can continue to gain understanding and empathy for others while reading. In a pilot program, we shared donated books with our students for summer reading. Students were excited to receive books, but the donated books did not adequately mirror the diversity in our community. We want to shine a light on our students' diverse backgrounds, cultures, abilities, and interests.
The books will fill a demand for reading! Having increased access will allow students greater opportunities to build their joy for reading and practice foundational reading skills across multiple settings. It will also allow parents the opportunity to have more bedtime stories with their young children, as the books are able to be kept at the home without a “return date.”
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Wojta and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.