ECS Students Receive Free Books
ECS Students Receive Free Books
Second graders connect with community through local donor program
Photos / Mindy Callaghan
Encouraging healthy reading habits from an early age is paramount to child development. The second-grade teachers at Ellicottville Central School are taking the lesson one step further by adding life skills such as thank you letter writing and practicing gratitude with its book donor program. “It’s really the cutest thing you’ve ever seen in your life,” said Brain McFadden, Executive Director of the Ellicottville Chamber of Commerce, who tipped off ellicottvilleNOW to the program. “My wife and I just look forward every month to getting the letter that comes to our house from the student – it’s wonderful!”
I caught up with ECS second-grade teacher Mindy Callaghan to discuss the book of the month program. “This is my first year in second grade, so I have been implementing the book donor program that previous teachers Katie Auge and Leah Farnham had started,” she said by way of phone interview.
The Bradford, Pennsylvania native and 16-year veteran teacher made the switch from fourth grade to second grade with the start of the current school year. “I taught in Bradford for eight years, and then moved to Ellicottville where I met my husband. This is year eight now in Ellicottville,” she said. “I taught fourth grade for the last seven years, so this is my first year in second grade and I absolutely love second grade!”
Callaghan took a moment to explain how the program works. “In the summer months, before the school year starts, the three of us second-grade teachers reach out to family and friends asking if they want to be a book donor for that school year – most people donate $15, some people donate more - whatever they want to donate - and with that, we pool all of the money together from our book donors to purchase a Scholastic book each month of the school year for all of our kiddos,” she explained. “So each month, they all get the same book from the funds that we’ve collected from the book donors.” (Scholastic is the largest publisher and distributor of children’s books in the world, according to its website.)
Recent book titles include Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes, The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn, It’s Pumpkin Day, Mouse! by Laura Numeroff, and this month’s selection, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Turkey by Lucille Colandro.
Callaghan added that after the students receive their books, they are tasked with writing a thank you letter back to their book donors using a template provided by the teachers. “And it’s seasonal, so this month, for November they’ll get a Thanksgiving book, and then their thank you note lists some things that they’re thankful for, and then they thank their book donor for giving them that book, essentially.”
She then takes a photo of the student with their book to accompany the thank you letters to complete the project. “I take a picture of the kids with their new book and then I stuff the envelopes with their picture and their thank you letter, and I mail that to the book donors,” she said, adding that she had enough donors this school year to give all of the students a book for open house. “They got a bonus book this year, too.”
The program has caught on with local residents over the years. McFadden said that once he told some friends about it, they wanted to get involved right away but the donor spots were already sold out. “I think it’s the most wonderful thing I’ve seen,” said McFadden. “It’s absolutely wonderful - it’s kind of emotional, when you get it… ‘Hi Mr. McFadden…’ and they tell a story; it’s wonderful!” he said.
For more information on the book donor program or to sign up for next school year, contact Mindy Callaghan at the Ellicottville Central School at 716-699-2316 or at mcallaghan@ecsny.org.