School District 2 launches Imagination Library program

Babies and young children in the Tantramar area will now have the opportunity to build their own libraries from an early age, with the implementation of a new book program.
Representatives of School District 2, the Port Elgin Rotary Club, local and regional literacy advocates and interested area residents were on hand last week at Port Elgin Regional School for the launch of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program for young children in the area.
During the program launch, the children of the Westmorland East Playschool were entertained by a lively version of the popular children's book The Little Engine Who Could, read by former Senator Marilyn Trenholme Counsell.
Founded by the popular country singer in 1996 in her home state of Tennessee, the program provides children with a new age-appropriate book every month, free of charge. Parton's Dollywood Foundation partners with communities willing to provide books for children from birth to five years of age. Sponsors assist in funding the cost of the books, including the cost of mailing the books to each child. Until they reach the age of five, each child registered within the program receives, by mail, a new age-appropriate book each month.
The program was expanded across the US in 2000 and there are currently more than 480,000 children receiving books monthly. In November 2006, the Dollywood Foundation partnered with Invest in Kids and launched the Imagination Library in Canada.
In 2008, several members of Port Elgin Regional School staff, led by methods and resources teacher Genie Coates, became aware of the Imagination Library program and, through the generous support of the Port Elgin Rotary Club, earlier this year undertook to offer the program for local children.
In an interview prior to the launch, Coates spoke of the need for young children to have access to books at an early age.
"Early literacy is not the teaching of reading . . . essentially it's exposure to lots of books. Some children enter the school system without really knowing what a book is and how it's used," Coates explained.
She added that research has shown that children develop the capacity to learn during the first three years of their life and that reading aloud to a child increases their brain capacity for language and literacy skills.
"As educators, many times teachers hear parents ask what they can do to help their child, especially if that child is having some learning difficulties. And what we say most of all is, 'read to them'. Brain research has proven that that's what we need to do most, just read to them," she said.
Extensive research has also shown that before entering the school system, the average child has had 12,000 hours of reading time, while the disadvantaged child has only 25 hours spent with someone reading to them.
"The aim of the Imagination Library project is to get more books into homes and give young children more exposure to literacy," Coates noted.
After the early seeds of the program had been sown at PERS, School District 2 also became aware of the initiative and made the decision to include other district schools. During last week's official launch of the Imagination Library program, community school coordinator Carole Murphy noted that, in addition to PERS, children also served by Forest Glen, Beaverbrook, Queen Elizabeth, Birchmount, Edith Cavell, Riverside Consolidated and Petitcodiac Regional Schools will also have the opportunity to take part in the program,
Funding, in part, for the first year of the initiative has been generously provided by the Port Elgin and Moncton Rotary Clubs; however other community partners are needed to ensure the continuation of the program on a long-term basis.
The cost of sponsoring one year of books for one child is $63 and businesses, service organizations and individuals are encouraged to give the gift of literacy through their generous support.
For more information on sponsoring a year of books for a child, or to refer a child for inclusion in the program, contact your local school or Carole Murphy, District 2, at 859-6004.