ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Colorful, personalized vending machines soon will grace the halls of all Allentown schools.
But instead of sodas or chips, the machines will distribute books.
Allentown School Board on Thursday approved buying 25 book vending machines and 50 book replenishment sets at a cost not to exceed $200,000.
“We are looking to build a culture of reading across our school district that extends beyond the classroom and into the daily lives of our students."Melissa Smith, Executive Director of Learning and Teaching
“We are looking to build a culture of reading across our school district that extends beyond the classroom and into the daily lives of our students,” said Melissa Smith, the district's executive director of learning and teaching.
Smith said literacy is among Allentown School District’s biggest priorities, and the book vending machine initiative comes amid other efforts to encourage reading.
For instance, the district will launch the Superintendent’s Book Club in coming weeks, and the Superintendent’s Reading League now is holding a fall reading challenge, “Leaf Through a Good Book.”
The challenge began this month and will continue through Nov. 16. Students track the minutes they’ve spent reading, and the top readers and schools will be celebrated at a ceremony in December.
As of Thursday, students have read for 624,139 minutes thus far throughout the competition.
Strengthening literacy and positive school climate
The district hopes to continue building a strong culture of reading with the new vending machines, which will be decorated with designs created by each school community, Smith said.
The schools also will be able to select the books available in the vending machines, so the selections match what students are interested in reading, she said.
Students will be able to buy books not with money, but with tokens they earn through positive behavior, academic achievement and completion of reading goals.
“This is important because we’re providing on-demand access for books that students can keep,” Smith said.
“It will help foster that culture of learning. It enhances our home libraries and strengthens the connection between literacy and a positive school culture.”
“I think it’s going to be a great thing to move the needle in literacy."Andrene Brown-Nowell, Allentown School Board President
School Board President Andrene Brown-Nowell praised the new initiative.
“I think it’s going to be a great thing to move the needle in literacy,” she said.
Brown-Nowell also called on local businesses to help incentivize students to read by distributing tokens themselves or by offering prizes and services, such as free haircuts, to students who read a certain number of books.
The district also asked for members of the public to donate books or money toward the initiative.
To do so, they can email Lindsey Parks, executive director of grant development, at parksl@allentownsd.org.
