Bookmobile fosters reading all summer long
Bookmobile teachers Lacey Igitol, left, and Laurie Opatz, right, hand out books to Terrina White-Clark and Trudantay Robinson last week.
Sure, Columbia Falls and Canyon kids are swimming and doing all the fun stuff that goes with summer vacation. But they’re also reading books — hundreds of them.
The school’s Bookmobile delivers books right to their door in the summer months as well, about 50 to 100 every two days, say teachers Laurie Opatz and Lacey Igitol.
Over the years, retired reading teacher Betsy Kohnstamm has rounded up a host of grants to get the program going. The school district lets the program use a van, and local nonprofits like the Rotary Club, the Soroptimists of Whitefish, and the Ruder PTO have pitched in as well.
Students who could benefit from extra reading in the summer are identified during the school year and then the books are delivered to their homes.
The program also hands out free lunches, courtesy of the Columbia Falls Food Bank. In addition, the van makes stops along the way, so any student who wants a book can get one.
The whole idea is to get kids reading even when school is out. If they read during the summer, they tend to do better when school starts.
On this day, Terrina White-Clark and Trudantay Robinson were all smiles when they stopped by the van to get their books. Robinson in particular was looking forward to reading a new series of books.
The program runs through the end of July and delivers books on Tuesday and Thursdays from noon to 3:30 p.m.