Read Fort Worth supporters will deliver more than 1,000 books to De Zavala Elementary School at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 14 in a special back-to-school event designed to stock classroom shelves and help children develop a love of reading, the organization said in a news release.
It is the second campus delivery made possible through Read Fort Worth’s Classroom Library Campaign, an initiative developed with Fort Worth ISD leaders to ensure that young students and teachers have easy and equitable access to high-interest, culturally-relevant books throughout the school day.
Donors delivered 1,200 titles to Sunrise-McMillan Elementary School in May.
The campaign has raised $147,000 in gifts and commitments to date toward its first $500,000 goal. Two generous donors have agreed to match contributions through September up to $100,000 to speed book deliveries to the first 40 schools targeted for support based on need.
TXU Energy, a subsidiary of Vistra Energy, was an early supporter of the campaign and plans to join Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price and Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Kent P. Scribner at the Aug. 14 event.
“As a longtime corporate citizen, TXU Energy is dedicated to giving back to the people of Fort Worth,” Brad Watson, senior director of TXU Energy community affairs, said in the news release. “And there’s no greater investment than the education of our young people and nurturing their love of reading.”
Contribution levels range from $25,000 to provide books for pre-K through second grade classes on a single campus to $6,000 for a grade level, $1,500 for a class or $15 for a single book. Donations may be made through campaign partner The Education Foundation for Fort Worth Schools at http://readfortworth.org/donation or by check.
The Classroom Library Campaign is one of several strategies Read Fort Worth has implemented to engage the community in Fort Worth ISD schools and provide young readers and their families the support they need to succeed in school.
Read Fort Worth is a collective impact effort to align partners, strategies and resources to significantly improve early childhood literacy so that 100 percent of Fort Worth ISD third-graders are reading on grade level by 2025.
Third-grade reading achievement in Fort Worth ISD has climbed 7 percentage points since Read Fort Worth was launched in 2016.
But the need for community support remains as only 35 percent of Fort Worth ISD third-graders were reading on grade level as of the May 2018 Texas STAAR Reading exam. Third-grade reading achievement is considering a gateway to future academic success, the organization said in the release.
readfortworth.org
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