March 15, 2000
We hear nearly every day how it is crucial for children to learn to read.
But in today's Family Now report, News Specialist Ruth Todd explains how many schools are discovering they don't have enough books to help our kids learn that essential skill.
Utah schools are facing a big problem-- one that's crucial to the learning process.
School books.
They're out-dated, over-used, and there's plain not enough.
But one school is battling the problem-- without a greater tax payer's burden.
Martha Camarillo: "I LOVE READING AND I LOVE BOOKS BECAUSE THEY TAKE YOU TO MANY PLACES WHERE REALLY IN LIFE YOU CAN'T GO AND THEY JUST HAVE MAGIC IN THEM."
Martha Camarillo not only reads in school, but anywhere she can.
Gaby Valdez's mother makes a special effort while reading books.
Gaby Valdez/6-year-old: "MY MOM CAN READ A SPANISH ONE AND AN ENGLISH ONE."
And Hannah Duran loves reading at home.
Hannah Duran/7-year-old: "I LIKE READING. MY DAD READS IT TO ME AND I READ IT AFTER HE'S DONE."
But until recently, their school - Dee School in Ogden's inner city - struggled to keep their libraries up to date. The books were older than the children - in some cases older.
Elaine Rasmussen/Dee School Library: "I KNOW WHEN I CAME INTO THE LIBRARY, I HAD BOOKS HERE THAT I HAD WHEN I WAS A CHILD."
Even though textbook costs have increased 100-percent in the past decade, the school has found ways to provide more for their kids.
They've purged old books from their library and applied for grants to replace them with new.
A number of reading programs cater to kids of all ages.
And now, another donation actually allows kids to take books home.
Sue Cox/Dee School Success for All: "WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR CONNECTIONS TO THE WORLD THAT ARE REAL AND MEANINGFUL, BOTH IN FANTASY AND IN FACT, FICTION IS VERY IMPORTANT, SO ARE THE KINDS OF RESEARCH MATERIALS, CHILDREN NEED TO HAVE SOMETHING UP TO DATE."
And not just textbooks, for they believe any book - in the hands of a child is a great book.
Begining this Friday, KSL and Deseret Book are jointly sponsoring "A month of a 1,000 books."
The goal is to raise 15 books for every elementary school in Utah.
At the end of the month of books, watch for the KSL book-a-thon April 17th.
