BVCS scatters reading corners around community

WESTPORT | Thanks to a local grant, no longer will children be bored while running errands with their guardians, as they'll now be able to enjoy a book or two. In June, the Boquet Valley Central School District (BVCS) received a $10,000 Generous Acts grant through the Adirondack Community Foundation. Now, several organizations within the district have community reading corners filled with children's books. "When I walked into places, I noticed there wasn't really much for kids, and it's great for a business to have opportunities for kids," said BVCS Lake View Campus Principal Lee Kyler. "This was also just an exciting way to get books in hand." Participating locations include Dogwood Bread Company in Wadhams, Denton Bare Necessities in Lewis, and Champlain National Bank and JAMBS on Main in Westport. There are also several bookcases around Elizabethtown, including the office of Dr. Michael Celotti, Elizabethtown Community Hospital, Egglefield Bros, Essex County Mental Health Services, Department of Social Services, and Adirondack Community Action Programs. Each contains a variety of books for infants and toddlers to grade 5 schoolkids, such as selections from the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" and "The Borrowers" novel series and "Dog Man" and "Pete the Cat" book series. The goal of these bookcases is to encourage early reading — making reading a regular, fun, and interactive part of your routine, starting from infancy. "Reading is the foundation of everything we do in education, and it's the key to so many doors as children grow older," Kyler said. "So, we want to instill that love of reading early." By providing materials in familiar places throughout the community, children are not only encouraged to read the books while waiting for their guardians to finish running errands, but also take them home afterwards. "I hope they do take the books home and keep them, and I hope that we have to restock a lot of books," said Kyler. "It's a good problem to have." Depending on what books go flying off the shelves is how the district will determine which books to restock, Kyler said. "It's going to be interesting to see what books are popular, but I imagine we're going to be buying a lot of 'Dog Man' books." If the bookcases turn out to be popular, even more reading corners may be set up in various locations. Grant monies are still available for restocking books and adding new bookcases, Kyler said, and the remaining funds will go towards literacy nights, which will be held every other month at the school. Upcoming literacy nights will take place on Oct. 2, Dec. 4, Feb. 5, and April 16. They'll alternate with numeracy nights, which are scheduled for Nov. 6, Jan. 15, March 5, and May 7. For more information or updates, visit boquetvalleycsd.org.

Signup for our newsletter

BVCS scatters reading corners around community

COMPANY

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

SUBMISSION FORMS

BEYOND THE NEWS