Fundraising Effort Underway To Put Libraries In Philadelphia Classrooms
By Mike DeNardo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Local celebs read to schoolchildren Tuesday morning, to kick off a fundraising effort to put mini-libraries in Philadelphia classrooms.
KYW Newsradio's own Cherri Gregg read to children at the Clara Barton school in Feltonville. It was the start of an effort to raise the final $3.5 million by 2017 for the Right Books Campaign.
"The purpose of the campaign is to put a library in every kindergarten through third-grade classroom in the public schools in Philadelphia," said Sheldon Bonovitz, the chair of the non-profit Fund for the School District of Philadelphia.
With trained teachers and books that are appropriate for each child's reading level, says Superintendent William Hite.
"We know that if we can expose children to the right level books when they're learning to read, then they stand a better chance of actually becoming proficient readers," said Hite.
The Fund was started under superintendent Paul Vallas but went dormant under the Ackerman administration.
The William Penn and Lenfest Foundations contributed $11.5 million to the campaign.
