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PROVO — Even after a few weeks, students in Wasatch Elementary School's Chinese immersion program have impressive skills. But recently their teachers noticed kids had hit a wall.
The school could only afford Chinese textbooks. They needed easy reading books, for students to flourish.
So KSL's Read Today program and Big O Tires made a surprise delivery. Chopper 5 landed on the playground and 800 students offered a resounding "Ni-Hao!," or "Hello!"
Boxes of books went to a fourth-grade immersion class and into the hands of excited students.
A few of the kids demonstrated their skills and read a few sentences with ease. "This says, they cut down the beanstalk," explained student Jane Sandberg. "I think it's going to be great so I can learn."
Big O representative Brian Conrad also passed out some Flip cameras so teachers can record students speaking Chinese and they can watch themselves.
"I think I will like it so it can help me practice," said student Jenna Shields.
Their teacher had noticed progress slowing recently and said the books would give students something to read on a more fun level.
"These books are going to become a tool to help them break the wall and move forward," said D.J. Gao, adding that that schools had a hard time affording the books for basic classes, let alone new immersion programs.
That's where Conrad got a chance to make a difference. His Provo store is part of the partnership "Read Today Rewards Driven By Big O." Each week, KSL's Read Today initiative and Big O Tires deliver needed educational resources to schools.
These students are in Conrad's Provo neighborhood, and he was moved knowing his business could help kids in a tangible way.
"It really hit me hard, I've never done this before," he said. "This is a great opportunity."
For more information on the program, go to readtoday.com.
Email: dwimmer@ksl.com
