Parkhill School granted $40,000 from Indigo foundation

Who can forget in their childhood of going to the library or bookstore and looking at all the colourful books with adventures and knowledge awaiting within? Or of watching Sesame Street or Reading Rainbow where exciting stories from books were shared and explored, enticing many to go to and pick up the book to continue the adventure. These libraries, bookstores, and TV shows encouraged many to read, and in essence love reading.

It is with this spirit that the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation was formed in 2004 after founder and CEO Heather Reisman visited a school in Toronto and realized that there are a number of school and classroom libraries in the country that are under-resourced.

“We run two grant programs currently that provide books to schools and high-needs communities across the country,” said Ian McCann, senior manager of the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation. “Parkhill has been granted out of the Literacy Fund Grant Program, which is a three-year granting program, where schools receive grants that will fill school libraries and provide additional funds for teachers and teacher librarians to meet student needs, and ultimately attempt to build a love of reading for children across the country.”

McCann said Parkhill was chosen because it’s a new school that needed to stock its shelves and because 48 percent of its student body are English language learners.

“It really jumps out as one of those high-needs schools, somewhere that this type of a grant is really going to make an impact,” he said.

Through this program, Indigo has granted more than $30.4 million to more than 500 schools and will be granting $1.8 million nationally this year to 50 schools, with Parkhill School being one of five in Manitoba receiving funding.

“We are super excited,” said Parkhill principal Kim Koop. “We were thrilled when we got told that we’d be receiving money and that we were receiving $40,000, because that will purchase a lot of books for our library and our literacy program.”

Parkhill’s $40,000 will buy about 2,666 books by 2029 if the average book cost $15. The most popular books sought after by children in elementary school are Dogman, I Survived, No David, Elephant and Piggie, and Pigeon books, according to Parkhill librarian Katrina Hiebert, who applied for the grant.

“We know, and the research tells us, that having access to high-interest titles that are relevant to the student in a language that is accessible to them is one of the keys to building a love of reading, and ultimately building that connection to reading for a lifetime,” said McCann.

A 2020 study done by Canadian Children’s Literacy Foundation (CCLF) found that about 20 percent of children are developmentally vulnerable and stronger literacy skills would help them greatly. Further, about 25 percent of children in early primary school are falling short of reading goals, and that number drops to 15 percent by the time they are 15 years old. This means that close to one million children in Canada need stronger literacy skills and a significant portion of at-risk children and youth are from disadvantaged households, according to the study.

The economic benefit of improving literacy, according to CCLF, suggests that every one percent increase in literacy skills in adults creates an economic benefit of $67 billion gross domestic product as measured in 2018 prices.

McCann pointed to two factors that are contributing to a decline in literacy among children: a lack of monetary investment in school libraries and classrooms; and the prevalence and distraction of screens and technology that stunts the natural habit of wanting to read a book.

“We know that kids, especially in the early years, developing strong literacy skills is very important and supports their academic growth,” said Koop. “We know that it’s essential for our kids…our library is our showcase of our school, and to bring our kids into that space and that they have choice and…if kids are interested in a book, they’re going to pick it up, and they’re going to read it, and they’re going to apply those reading skills. So, we want to have a lot of variety for them.”

According to Koop, Hiebert has already started working with the students and teachers on creating a book wish list.

“We know the more books we can have in the library, it’s just inviting for our students…(it will) help us develop strong readers and kids that love reading, because we know reading is such a way to be creative, to be imaginative. It’s something to do instead of be on a screen, and it develops that relationship,” said Koop.

The first installment of Indigo’s grant will be given this fall.