Rutland Northeast and Northwest Primary Schools selected
The Children’s Literacy Foundation announced April 28 the 11 Year of the Book schools in New Hampshire and Vermont that were selected for the 2021-2022 school year. The Year of the Book is a $25,000 literacy grant awarded to elementary and middle schools with a significant percentage of low-income students and students underperforming on reading and writing assessments, as well as a demonstrated commitment to literacy and creative ideas for celebrating reading and writing. The grant brings Vermont and New Hampshire authors and storytellers to the selected schools, along with fun family events, special literacy programming, new books for the school library, new books for the local public library, new books for classrooms, and 10 new books for each student to choose.
The Year of the Book has been a little different in the 2020-2021 school year, with events virtual or outdoors and socially distanced, and book giveaways modified according to health guidelines. But schools throughout both states have still been able to celebrate literacy and put new books in the hands of low-income, at-risk, and rural children.
The goals are to create a culture of literacy within a school community, encourage reading and writing, integrate literacy into other areas of the curriculum, increase family engagement in literacy, and provide access to high-quality books to all students.
The Year of the Book will kick off at the beginning of the school year with a fun storytelling presentation and the first book giveaway. There will be many literacy events throughout the year, in addition to the influx of new books for the school, public library, and home libraries.
The 2021-2022 Year of the Book schools are:
- Braintree Elementary School in Braintree
- Edmunds Elementary School in Burlington
- Indian River School in Canaan, New Hampshire
- Valley View Community Elementary School in Farmington, New Hampshire
- Highgate Elementary School in Highgate Center
- Lancaster Elementary School in Lancaster, New Hampshire
- Lisbon Regional School in Lisbon, New Hampshire
- Gossler Park School in Manchester, New Hampshire
- Newport City Elementary School in Newport
- Rutland Northwest Primary School in Rutland
- Rutland Northeast Primary School in Rutland
CLiF Program Director Meredith Scott said “CLiF looks forward to working with these schools and seeing how they creatively apply the grant components to welcoming students back to post-COVID school. Reading, writing, and storytelling can help unify school communities—teachers, families, afterschool providers, and students—and create a shared path to new learning, which CLiF expects all schools will need.”
The CLiF team looks forward to bringing books, stories, and a celebration of literacy to these communities.
For more information about CLiF and to apply, visit clifonline.org.
