Patton College of Education’s Literacy Center to host Parents Weekend book fair

The Patton College of Education’s Stevens Literacy Center will host a Scholastic Book Fair in conjunction with Ohio University’s Parents Weekend and will donate revenue to three elementary schools in need.

The Fair will be held Sept. 19-22 in McCracken Hall, Room 218. It will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 19-20, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 21, and noon to 3 p.m. Sept. 22.

“The Scholastic Book Fair is an annual event scheduled on Parents Weekend — it’s an opportunity for families of teacher candidates to have easy access to great books they can purchase for their future classrooms,” said Dr. Julie Francis, director of the Stevens Literacy Center.

This year, the fair’s proceeds (in the form of Scholastic Dollars) will be donated to three elementary schools: Coolville Elementary School in the Federal Hocking Local School District, Kolter Elementary School in Houston, and Poplar Elementary School in Poplar, Montana.

“The Scholastic Book Fair gives us an opportunity to do our small part to ensure that children, whether they are in Ohio, Texas, or Montana, have access to high-quality resources needed to read,” said Francis.

The Stevens Literacy Center, which seeks to improve lives by researching, developing, and promoting literacy across the lifespan, will be implementing a family literacy program at Coolville Elementary starting in October. By providing the school with a share of Scholastic Dollars, families will have more books to choose from.

Kolter Elementary was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey in August 2017, and the Stevens Literacy Center has been donating its Book Fair revenue to help rebuild it ever since. Francis also selected Poplar Elementary because one of the center’s literacy ambassadors, Annie Dill, spent part of her summer working with children there.

“I’m hoping that sending part of the proceeds there will send a message of support,” said Dill, a sophomore Middle Childhood Education major. “A message that these kids are important and deserve new books.”

According to Scholastic, a student who reads 20 minutes per day will be exposed to 1,800,000 words per year, while a student who reads one minute per day will only be exposed to 8,000 per year.

The Stevens Literacy Center is hoping to raise at least $1,500 this year so that each of the three elementary schools can receive $500 at minimum.

“Everything is based on reading,” said Dill. “It is so important to build on these core skills from a young age before the students become older and everything gets more and more confusing.”

The book fair will take place the weekend before Adult Literacy and Family Education (AEFL) Week, which will be celebrated Sept. 22-28.

Book fair attendees can park for free at McCracken Hall.