News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Putnam County School System’s Rolling Reader Bus will be ready to go next month.
PreK-5 Curriculum Supervisor Jill Ramsey says the bus needs a few more finishing touches before it hits the road.
“The interior is almost finished. We are going to be painting the inside of it as soon as we get back in school,” Ramsey says. “The CTE class in Monterey will be doing that. Once the interior’s completed, we will transport the bus down to Murfreesboro where it will be wrapped. They’re working on the design for that wrapping right now, and that should be completed by the first of the year as well.”
The project has suffered several delays as the bus was supposed to be used by the beginning of the school year. However, scheduling and minor financial setbacks delayed the project.
Ramsey says although the bus itself is almost complete, the Rolling Reader will never truly be finished, but for good reason.
“We’re excited about it just because it’s never going to be an ending project,” Ramsey says. “Once it’s on the road, it’s going to be an on-going process of equipping the bus with books, because the goal is to get the books into the hands of kids and families.”
Ramsey says getting the bus on the roadway and at various school events will be beneficial to the public.
“The sooner we do that, the sooner we have a reminder out in the public of the importance of reading to their kids and how that’s going to help them once they do get in school and begin their educational careers,” Ramsey says. “Just having that as a visual for the community, I think is going to be huge, and then being at events and getting books actually into the hands of kids also.”
Ramsey notes several people and groups have donated books for the Rolling Reader as well as money for the purchase of new books. Anyone interested in making a donation for the Rolling Reader can do so by dropping off contributions at the Putnam County School System’s main office or any one of the county elementary schools.
