CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Approximately 37,000 West Virginia children will see books arrive in the mail in the days ahead. The deliveries are part of the Blue Ribbon Selections Book Club, a collaboration of the West Virginia Department of Education, the Marshall University June Harless Center, and the Dollywood Foundation.
The books, about 200,000, will be distributed to children in West Virginia about to enter the first and second grade.
Education officials say each summer school aged children experience some level of learning loss during the summer months. The Covid 19 pandemic which required schools to move to on-line learning platforms, only magnified the difficulty. Officials say this year more than ever summer reading and student engagement in the off months is critical.
Each students in those categories will get two books in the mail during mid-June and three more in mid-July. The first and second grade teachers in West Virginia will also get the same books to start the school year.
Those books will also be provided in conjunction with other family engagement resources on the West Virginia Department of Education’s website. Among the offerings there will be a lineup of “Celebrity Readers” who will read the books on various platforms once they are delivered to the children.
Officials say with all students reading the same books during the summer and having them in the classroom will be a starting point for teachers returning to their students in the fall to have a place to start building on summer literacy activities.