'Every child deserves the opportunity to enjoy the love of books'

MILTON — W.H. Rhodes Elementary has received a grant from a national non-profit organization to implement a reading enrichment program for first-grade classes.

StoryBook Treasures gifted Rhodes $6,000, which will pay for a backpack, a book and a treasure five times during this school year, all of which each student can keep. Teachers will receive lesson plans for each book, as well as advice for parental involvement activities, according to Dianne Lewis, the school’s literacy coach.

Denise Corbo, the founder and president of StoryBook Treasures, is a national board certified teacher with endorsements in administration, gifted specialist, NK-8 and vocational education. The organization’s leadership team comprises about a dozen volunteers, all with education experience.

Last week, Corbo flew to Milton from Virginia to visit the school, introduce the program to the first-grade teachers and provide professional development training on how to implement the program.

“Every child deserves the opportunity to enjoy the love of books,” Corbo said.

Teachers were able to view the books and treasures available for this school year following Corbo’s presentation. They also learned of the required pre- and post-surveys for teachers and parents to take to support the effectiveness of the program.

Corbo thanked Lee Ann Canada, a first-grade teacher, and Lewis for bringing the program to Rhodes.

“With continued monetary support, we hope to sustain and even expand the program to other grade levels,” Principal Michele Barlow said.

The first shipment of program supplies to Rhodes should be in late November.

If you are interested in supporting the reading program, visit http://www.storybooktreasures.org/donate to make a donation specifically for W.H. Rhodes Elementary.

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: 'Every child deserves the opportunity to enjoy the love of books'