McKinley School Awarded $10,000 from Snapdragon Book Foundation for Reading Program

McKinley Elementary School has been awarded $10,000 from the Snapdragon Book Foundation to purchase library materials to support the school’s reading program.

The grant funding will allow McKinley to expand its current library collection with over 400 high-interest, relevant library books for all grade levels. The school has implemented a reading program to increase students’ access to books through extended school library hours to include afterschool and summertime.

Next summer, McKinley will organize a “Bookmobile” which will transport books purchased through the grant funds directly to the housing areas of the school’s refugee students.

Refugee students do not live within walking distance of the school or a public library.

The “Bookmobile,” which is essentially a teacher’s vehicle, will provide those students with access to hundreds of high-interest, quality books to mitigate summer learning loss, improve achievement, and foster a love for reading.

The teacher will visit refugee housing areas with the “Bookmobile” to deliver books on a weekly basis. She will help guide students to choose books at appropriate levels. Each student will be able to check out two to three books per week.

“McKinley is really targeting their high ELL population and especially their many refugee students, since they don’t have the books at home that some families have,” said Sherry Amos, former principal at McKinley Elementary School and the current  principal at Morris Elementary School.

McKinley Elementary School was one of five schools to receive the Snapdragon Book Foundation grant this year. The foundation received nearly 500 grant applications.

The Snapdragon Book Foundation was started in December, 2008 to provide funds to improve school libraries for disadvantaged children. Grants are awarded to public, private, and experimental schools