Lyndonville receives grant for school library
Press Release, Lyndonville Central School
LYNDONVILLE – Lyndonville Central School received a $4,000 grant from best-selling author James Patterson to support its school library.
In addition, Scholastic Reading Club will match each dollar of Patterson’s donation with “bonus points” that teachers can use to acquire books and other materials for their classrooms.
“We are grateful for James Patterson’s commitment to school libraries, the Scholastic Reading Club’s dedication to the next generation of thinkers and this grant, which will allow Lyndonville to expand the enrichment opportunities in our library,” said Superintendent Jason Smith.
The grant money will be used to add new technology to the elementary library program. Third- and fourth-grade students have already begun to reap the benefits of this grant through the purchase of a 3D printer. Students have learned how to design on the technology using Tinkercad.
In addition, Lyndonville will purchase Lego Mindstorm sets that will allow students to learn about robotics and create several Raspberry Pi stations to allow our students to learn some basic programming and computer design.
Patterson and Scholastic Reading Club announced in March 2016 that Patterson would donate $1.75 million for school libraries nationwide in the second installment of his School Library Campaign. As part of an ongoing effort to keep books and reading a number one priority in the United States, selected school libraries will be receiving grants ranging from $1,000 to $10,000. Since the grant program’s launch in 2015, Patterson has donated $3.5 million to school libraries nationwide, with all funds are being personally donated by Patterson.
“I’ve made it my mission to underscore the vital role reading plays in children’s lives, and the need to sustain school libraries is at the heart of that mission,” Patterson said.
In the first-ever partnership of its kind, Patterson joined forces with Scholastic Reading Club to administer funding applications to their network of 62,000 schools and 800,000 teachers. Schools entering were asked to share the story of their school library, including past efforts to make improvements and “great ideas to help create a brighter future.”
Patterson personally read and selected the winning recipients of the grants. Based on past winners, school libraries across the country have been using this funding to purchase new books, add bookshelves, make improvements to their catalog systems, and expand their programing.
Click here to see the 407 recipients of the grant funds.
