The COVID pandemic brought unexpected challenges to nearly every part of our school district. The Learning Commons (formerly libraries) at Breton Downs, Lakeside, and Wealthy were no exception.
With professional librarians long gone due to years-ago budget cuts, and no volunteers available due to safety precautions, the Learning Commons in each elementary suffered.
As restrictions lifted, and volunteers returned to schools, Learning Commons volunteers applied for a grant from the Foundation to replenish the shelves by replacing missing books and acquiring new ones. In January, the grant was approved, and the collection at each Learning Commons is being replenished.
“The Learning Commons Inventory Revitalization Grant that was approved by the foundation has enabled us to purchase hundreds of new books,” says Dana Parent, a volunteer at the Wealthy Elementary Learning Commons. “We have been able to purchase non-fiction books to support current student interests, supplement classroom teaching units and replace outdated content.
“We have also been able to purchase many recent award-winning and honorary fiction books, new titles in popular fiction series as well as many of the books on our student request list. Students and teachers are thrilled to have a new selection of books available to check out in all sections of the Learning Commons, keeping students engaged and motivated to read and learn.”
