One caring teacher at a school that Kids Need to Read donated to this summer has taken our donation a giant step further. Melody Polson, the eighth grade English teacher at R. O. Gibson Middle School in Las Vegas, Nevada studied the books during the summer and incorporated them into the reading curriculum for the upcoming school year. She is using them not only to encourage her students to read, but to build their vocabulary, comprehension and test-taking skills as well.
Kids Need to Read sent Gibson Middle School twenty-seven books valued at over $250.00. This donation was a direct result of Higley Elementary and Middle School’s student fundraising drive. Kris Ramsey, Higley’s librarian, organized the kids’ efforts to raise money for KNTR, and their PTO added a substantial donation to the students’ total. Please read more about the amazing kids of Higley, Arizona here.
Melody Polson‘s thank you letter points out the substantial problems many schools are facing due to budget shortfalls:
I made it in and picked up my box of delights today. Wowiewowowow!!! It is one thing to see the list … another entirely to see the stacks of titles right in front of you.
I’m soooo excited. I’ve passed on our correspondence to my principal and the assistant. They are enthused because our state is in a rather deep budget crunch, and the school won’t be getting much of what we had hoped at the end of the year. For us, it won’t be as bad as for many – our numbers are actually expected to decline due to re-zoning. For others, it is gonna be a tough year.
[Kids Need to Read] – you’ve shined a light where one was not expected.
Thank you!
Reading cannot be sacrificed due to school districts’ cutbacks. Kids need new books with enticing covers and exciting stories waiting to be discovered within. It is through books that many children find their potential, especially in poor districts where mentoring can be scarce. Life lessons, encouragement and the knowledge that one can overcome barriers are all found in quality children’s books. Kids Need to Read intends to provide where school systems fail.
Thank you Melody Polson for using KNTR books to their full potential!
