As students throughout Lane County wrap up their school year and head into summer, a community-wide book gifting program has made sure nearly 3,000 elementary students have brand new books to read over the break.
BookFest was started six years ago by Connected Lane County and United Way with the aim of keeping kids inspired to read and preventing what’s called the “summer slide.” That’s when students lose important reading skills they’d gained during the school year.
Christie Costello is with United Way of Lane County. She described what it was like for K-2 students across 19 schools to receive a total of 13,000 books.
“It was just so heartwarming to see how thrilled students were about books,” said Costello. “They were particularly excited that they were free, that they could pick out five to take home and keep. And that they could even find books in Spanish."
Costello said increasing students’ access to books helps improve reading scores. A recent English Language Arts state assessment shows 60% of Lane County students aren’t reading proficiently by the end of third grade.
BookFest is one important way to support young readers. Data shows that when students aren’t reading proficiently by third grade, they are four times less likely to graduate on time.
Participating schools include Eugene 4J, Bethel, Springfield, South Lane, Oakridge, Lowell, and Mapleton school districts. Each year, schools are selected based on where students have the most opportunity to improve reading scores.
Books were purchased with funds raised by community members and sponsors, including the Eugene Education Foundation, Springfield Education Foundation, Bethel Education Foundation, Lane Education Foundation, SELCO Community Credit Union, OCCU Foundation, The Duck Store, and Jase Simmons, Simmons Capital Management, LLC.
Those interested in participating can learn more at https://www.unitedwaylane.org/bookfest.
