Library Book Grant program receives funds

The newly created Classroom Library Book Grant program in the College of Education has been awarded a $2,500 Meemic Foundation for the Future of Education grant to help support the development of resources for new teacher classroom libraries.
 
Meemic agent Keith Steensma presented a check to College of Education Dean Elaine Collins and faculty members Sheryl Vlietstra and Megan Freudigmann February 11 at the Eberhard Center.

Vlietstra and Freudigmann came up with the idea for the grant program as a way to help new teachers build their classroom libraries. “New teachers are excited to land their first job,” said Vlietstra. “They arrive with lots of energy and great ideas but often find there are no materials to help them teach. It can take new teachers several years of personal spending to develop a functional classroom library.”

Their goal in the next few months is to gather children’s literature for grades K-5 and provide classroom libraries to new teachers, with each containing at least 100 books. The program will be open to alumni who began their elementary teaching careers within the last three years and who are teaching in underfunded districts in the greater Grand Rapids area.

“It’s so important to put quality literature in the hands of students who haven’t been able to learn from these books,” said Freudigmann. “It’s important to support our students and alumni but also the power of reading and the power of quality literature.”
 
Ways to help:
• Drop off or send new or like new K-5 children’s books to the College of Education, 388C DEV
• Make a monetary donation at: http://gvsu.edu/coe/bookdrive
• Donate Scholastic Book Club bonus points. Call 1-877-266-8776 and provide customer #1803384690