Ellensburg Book-Mobile

The purpose of this project was to bring books into the hands of Ellensburg children who are of low socioeconomic status. Research tells us that learning disparities between the rich and the poor start immediately, even before a child reaches kindergarten. Sixty-one percent of low-income families have no books at all in their homes for their children. Having access to books can be a large determining factor in reading achievement of students. Therefore, Ellensburg School District teachers and CWU students have come together to counteract this reading disparity by giving Ellensburg children, especially those of low-economic status, access to books. The Book-Mobile is a project spearheaded by Mandi Laurent, a local first grade teacher at Lincoln Elementary School. She knew that when her first grade students left her classroom for the summer, many of them would not read a book until school started up again in the fall. The Book-Mobile is a traveling library full of books that stops at the lowest income neighborhoods in Ellensburg. This past summer the Book-Mobile delivered books to children who wouldn\u27t otherwise have access to books during summer. Hundreds of children were able to check out books. Jaclyn Robertson and Amanda Bean were involved in the whole process of creating the Book-Mobile, including leveling and organizing the books and helping at the Book-Mobile stops. With these books, children were able to progress in their reading skills over the summer, ready to tackle school again in the fall. The Book-Mobile will hit the road again this summer