The Children’s Literacy Foundation (CLiF) invites eligible elementary schools in Vermont to apply for its “Year of the Book” grant, which provides $25,000 in literacy programming throughout the school year. Programming includes author and illustrator visits, workshops with CLiF’s 60-plus professional presenters, family literacy celebrations and seminars, and exciting new literacy initiatives. The grant also provides high-quality new books for classrooms and both the school and local public library (selected by the teachers and librarians), and ten new books for each child to choose and keep.
The grant is designed to promote a culture of literacy within a community and to give children the resources and inspiration to enjoy a lifelong love of reading and writing. Schools with at least 25 percent of students scoring below proficient on reading and writing assessments and with at least 30 percent of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch are encouraged to apply today for the grant.
“Being a recipient of the … grant has opened many doors to literacy for our children,” said Susan Greenlaw, reading specialist at 2017 grant recipient Bethlehem Elementary School in Bethlehem, New Hampshire. “Author and illustrator visits helped our children to realize the accessibility of words and the power that they possess. Receiving ten brand-new books has put books into the homes of children who previously didn’t have books. The parent seminar demonstrated for parents the educational power they have as an adult in the lives of their children. Money for books allowed us to purchase books for our students to enjoy. As a culminating activity, CLiF grant money allowed us to hire a hot air balloon which was a once in a lifetime experience for many of our children.”
In addition to the initial year of literacy programming, the CLiF Year of the Book grant also provides $1,000 in literacy funding for the year after the school’s grant to keep up momentum with reading and writing. School representatives are thereafter invited to CLiF’s annual literacy conference in perpetuity to connect with past, incoming, and current grant schools, share their ideas and success stories, and network with their colleagues about creative ways to encourage literacy in their schools and communities.
The deadline to apply for the 2018-2019 school year is January 31, 2018. The Year of the Book application, as well as more details on the grant and eligibility requirements, can be found at www.clifonline.org/year-of-the-book. Contact Meredith Scott at (802) 244-0944 or [email protected] with any questions. — from CLiF.
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