Students at Marr/Cook Elementary will be getting a boost to grow their newly-acquired reading skills thanks to a $5,000 grant recently received from Dollar General Stores.
Danielle Stiles, K-2 Literacy Coach, was recently notified that the grant she applied for had been awarded to the school to help support the Accelerated Reader program.
This program encourages students to take home a book every day and read it with their families, and to reach their individualized reading goals.
“With students taking books home every day, some are well loved and are starting to fall apart, and classroom libraries are becoming smaller,” Stiles said. “Our teachers currently use some of their own money to supply A.R. books within their own classrooms.”
Marr/Cook Elementary also has a book “vending machine,” where students who have been recognized for good behavior can redeem a token and get a book. Each month, there are 75 to 100 students who are selecting a brand new book as their prize, Stiles said.
Now, thanks to the grant, each teacher will receive $100 to purchase new Accelerated Reader books for their classroom library. The remaining dollars will be spent towards books for the vending machine as well as the school’s end of the year book drive.
“By providing a variety of books in our school, students will have numerous opportunities to explore new stories,” Stiles said.
Goshen was among 27 other Ohio schools who received grant dollars from Dollar General. The Dollar General Literacy Foundation helps support K-12 literacy at schools, public libraries and non-profit organizations.
Grant funding is provided to assist in implementing new or expanding existing literacy programs, purchasing new technology or equipment to support literacy initiatives, or purchasing books, materials or software for literacy programs.