By Noelle Kronberg
Eagle Times Education Correspondent
SPRINGFIELD, VT — Union Street School recently held a kick-off event for a grant-funded literacy enrichment program.
The Children’s Literacy Foundation (CLiF) Year of the Book grant is valued at more than $25,000 and is intended to build a culture and love for reading and writing within the school, home and greater community.
CLiF is a nonprofit out of Waterbury, VT, funded by numerous donors.
The organization was founded in 1998 and partnered with more than 115 Vermont and New Hampshire schools, offering multiple grants, with the CLiF Year of the Book being the largest.
Union Street School is one of 10 schools in the Twin States receiving the 2023-2024 school year grant. Maple Avenue in Claremont was also selected.
At the kick-off event, CLiF Founder Duncan McDougall visited Union Street School and brought a trove of books.
The school’s theme for the grant programming is, “Reading Takes You Places,” and McDougall shared an exciting tale with students about a “trip” he recently took to Alaska through reading a book.
He then put on a show for each group of students with an energetic and dramatic reading of picture books. The event concluded with each student selecting a book from the collection McDougall brought.
There was a buzz of excitement around the new books, with some students reading their new books in entirety before the end of the school day. Kathy Gosselin, a reading interventionist at the school, shared that she came upon a student, a struggling and reluctant reader, who became engrossed in his new book and was excited to read an adventure book.
Over the course of the year, students will get to select another nine books to take home. Classroom teachers will also select books to build their classroom libraries, and the school and public library will receive $1,000 worth of books to add to their collections.
Union Street will have visits from local authors, including Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, who will lead the students through her “story keepers” research and writing program.
The school will also have family engagement activities, a library presentation and other literacy-based programming as part of the Year of the Book.
“CLiF’s Year of the Book Grant program has a proven track record of creating a culture of literacy within a school community,” said CLiF Program Manager Cassie Willner. “The excitement that comes from new ideas, new books and new connections makes this an invigorating grant for schools. Our ultimate goal here at CLiF and through this grant is to inspire kids to love reading and writing.”
While the grant and funded programming for the 2023-2024 school year is designed to build momentum, the school will continue for years to come.
“These schools have made tremendous steps, with limited budgets, to bring literacy activities to their schools,” Willner said. “Combining the CLiF Year of the Book grant with their existing initiatives will have incredible and long-lasting impact. CLiF is very proud to partner with the dedicated staff, faculty, students, and families in these diverse schools.”
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