Hundreds Of Spanish Books Added To Putnam Schools Mobile Book Program

Putnam County students who speak Spanish will soon have more opportunities to read books in their language.

The school system received a state grant that allowed hundreds of Spanish books to be added to the Words on Wheels program. Coordinator Dr. Mark Rodgers said the repurposed school bus travels to schools so students can take home a book.

“We have had for the last five years a hole in the services that we provide in that we have a number of Spanish students, and we haven’t had many donations of Spanish books,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers said he especially saw the need during summer school. Rodgers said the bus served over 300 students, but at least 25 percent of the readers spoke Spanish. Rodgers said those students now have the same opportunity as others.

“We didn’t have any books for them,” Rodgers said. “We had English books and that works sometimes, but it’s just great to be able to reach out to somebody and touch their heart with something that belongs to them and encourages their culture. I think it just shows that we care about them.”

Rodgers said the grant come from the Governor’s Early Literacy Program. Rodgers said the Spanish books are currently stored in a warehouse, but the WOW bus will be at the Fall FunFest to hand out the new additions.

“We actually don’t keep books on the bus,” Rodgers said. “We have a storage facility. We have the books prepped and ready to go. This grant program will be an ongoing resource for us that I expect next year we will be able to use almost all of the funds for Spanish books. We literally have thousands and thousands of English books.”