GREAT FALLS — KRTV is partnering with Chief Joseph Elementary School in Great Falls for our 2022 "If You Give A Child A Book" campaign.
Coincidentally, this goes right along with an effort the school is making itself to try to get kids to read more.
At Chief Joseph, the sound of books being cataloged and books being opened is something you may hear a lot of because reading is a major priority there.
"You Google search any kind of research paper or article or book on the importance of reading and it's overwhelmingly clear that kids need to be reading,” said Principal Brian Miller.
Miller added that books help make kids quality learners and quality people.
"Our curriculum has always included reading and our teachers have always attempted to, whenever they have a free moment, to put reading into their day. We're just asking them to do that a little bit more, (be) a little bit more contentious of when they can read stories to their kids,” said Miller.
To further encourage reading, a "school bookworm" has been started in the hallway outside the library.
"Each classroom will be coming out of the classroom with the segments of the bookworm and they're going to go and meet across the ceiling all throughout the school,” said Tara Murillo, the school librarian, pointing out the bookworm.
Each time a student reaches a reading goal, they get to add a segment to the bookworm outside their classroom.
"The kids are always excited about reading and I think even more now since COVID has kind of started to decline. For a while, we weren't able to check books out,” Murillo said.
The Give A Child A Book campaign is simple. You donate and we partner with Scholastic Books to use the money to buy books for the students, which KRTV reporters then help distribute.
"I've always loved this quote from Jaquelin Kennedy Onassis. It's 'There are many little ways to enlarge a child's world but the best of all is a love of books.' So the more books we have the more they're going to love them. So we're just so (grateful) that you're partnering with us and our kids will really reap the benefits of that,” said Murillo.
"Books change the world, man. Stories change the world,” said Miller.
Click here if you would like to donate.
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