Every Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade student in Mt. Pleasant ISD has received a book, thanks to a $10,500 award from Reading is Fundamental (RIF). The award was made possible through a generous donation from Macy’s.

MPISD ordered more than 5,000 books with the funds so every student at Annie Sims, E.C Brice, Corprew and Vivian Fowler Elementary Schools received a free book to take home to add to their home libraries.

Sheila Eddy, the RTI coordinator at Vivian Fowler Elementary School, learned of the availability of the funds because of her history as the district coordinator for the Reading is Fundamental program. She administered the Early Reading is Fundamental program at the Child Development Center (CDC) and saw the impact that it had on students there. She says that impact is obvious in the students she sees at Fowler who went through the CDC. When the opportunity to apply for the funds presented itself, she immediately contacted the RIF Regional Coordinator.

“The population of MPISD is book poor – many of our students come from homes where there are few to no books,” said Eddy. “The opportunity to build a home library is very important to the success of our students. Students need to have books and to be practicing reading at home.  Reading is the basis for all learning and making progress.”

MPISD qualified for the award because the district is enrolled in the RIF National Registry and because the percentage of students receiving free and reduced lunch is 80% or higher.

Reading is Fundamental is the largest children’s literacy nonprofit in the United States. It is dedicated to motivating children to read by delivering free books and literacy resources to those children and their families who need it most. According to RIF, nearly two-thirds of low-income families in the U.S. own no books.