Books will soon be in the hands of 10,000 students across five Massachusetts communities, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll announced Thursday.
In a collaborative effort between state officials and the United States of Readers, a national reading program run by Scholastic, students from pre-K through eighth grade will receive 10 books a year.
“Every child should have books to read that they choose and can call their own, especially our youngest readers,” Driscoll said in a video shared on X. “That‘s why we’re so excited that a new national program, the United States of Readers, is launching right here in Massachusetts.”
Books will go to schools in Quincy, Revere, Framingham, Holyoke and in the Southern Berkshires, she added. Teachers will also receive 25 books for their classroom libraries.
This initiative, which received $75,000 in state funding according to WCVB-TV, will start in Massachusetts before expanding across the country.
The goal is to let students increase their “reading comprehension and skills,” Driscoll said.
In 2022, author James Patterson gave a $2 million donation to the program during its second year to help the program expand, according to a statement from Scholastic.
“It is unconscionable that not all children in our country have equal access to books and reading programs, and that so often teachers use their own money to provide these empowering classroom experiences for their students,” Scholastic Book Clubs President Judy Newman said in the statement.
Scholastic is “proud to bring book clubs to kids and their teachers who otherwise wouldn’t have this experience and we look forward to continuing to evolve the program to reach millions more throughout the United States,” Newman said.
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