BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — "If You Give a Child a Book" is an Scripps Howard Fund initiative allowing students to get books into the hands of children who don't have access to them. Stella Hills Elementary partners with E.W. Scripps for "Give a Child a Book" initiative. We got to partner with Stella Hills Elementary School to share the joy of reading.
- Stella Hills Elementary partners with E.W. Scripps Company for "If You Give A Child A Book" initiative.
- Reading is a priority at Stella Hills, even with challenges of student turnover.
- Access to books at home is crucial for a child's reading achievement.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Steve Robinson Principal at Stella Hills Elementary School tells me reading to him is everything and allows students who are stuck at home to explore another world.
"Even though they are at their own home they can go anywhere they want to do and be what they want to be."
With a lack of access to books and reading not being a priority at home for most students. It's a nationwide problem that kids are 1-2 grade levels lower in their reading level abilities says, Toni Koop Bakersfield District Librarian.
"We have the initiative to build readers that by third grade they are on grade level and that's what we are going to be striving for the next few years"
But, Stella Hills Elementary has been implementing ways to fix that for their students even though they face the challenges of students moving in and out and not being able to have quality books.
They have remolded their library and provided new ways for students to come in and grab a book off the shelf.
The E.W Scripps Howard Fund initiative provides that gap for students to expand their world and minds with just a book, Robinson says with joy.
"With this campaign it allows our kids to have their book at home."
The number of books in a home is a powerful and significant predictor of a child's reading achievement and technology like phones hinder a child's development, Stella Jennifer Williams Stella Hills Elementary Schools librarian says,
"They learn about other people, customs, even with fiction they can live whole other lives and see new perspectives that maybe they may have not thought of or had access to otherwise."
Officials tell me that only 29.5% of students in the district scored at or above the proficiency benchmark for reading on the state test.
That number dropped to 21.1% at Stella Hills Elementary or 99 out of 470 students.
Administrators say it stresses the need to keep books in the hands of students... and for parents to read to their kids.
Williams continues, "The kids see you reading and it makes them more interested in doing it"
If you'd like to donate to the If You Give a Child a Book campaignyou can find the information on our website turn to 23 dot com.
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