HARDIN — The library at Hardin Primary School buzzed with excitement as students selected books to take home, thanks to the Scripps Howard Fund's "If You Give A Child A Book" campaign, where your donations help get books into the hands of every kid.
Here at Q2, our Give a Child a Book campaign raised over $55,000, allowing students at Hardin Primary School to choose five books each to keep, with another five books coming later in the year. Ponderosa and Broadwater elementary students will also receive 10 books.
Watch Hardin students pick out books:
"It was a really fun experience watching their faces light up and pick up some awesome books," said Deja Pretty On Top, a first-grade teacher at the school.
Pretty On Top believes the program offers more than just reading material.
"I think it's more than just a book. I think it's a gift of creativity. It sparks their imagination," Pretty said.
The program's impact extends beyond individual students, addressing broader literacy challenges in the community.
"I think that lack of access to books, we see, is pretty prevalent," Pretty On Top said.
Roxanne Not Afraid, principal of Hardin Primary School, noted that some families were initially confused about the program's no-cost nature.
"We had parents and grandparents, they weren't sure what was going on. I remember one family had even called the school and asked, did they owe money? They were panicking. They didn't know how that worked," Not Afraid said.
The principal emphasized the long-term benefits of early literacy access.
"That belief in them having that interest in reading, it really kind of levels out that playing field for the kids as they get older. Because that literacy really does help. It helps for their future," Not Afraid said.
One student expressed enthusiasm for the books, despite still learning to read.
"Yeah, I like it. I don't really know how to read, but I like to hear my mom read," the student said.
According to the National Assessment of Education Progress, 31% of fourth-grade students performed at or above the proficient level on the 2024 reading assessment, which was 2 percentage points lower compared to 2022.
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