DISKIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: True tale infusion

Community partnership makes a $10,000 nonfiction book donation

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By ERIKA BAYER-POLAK

VIEW STAFF WRITER

Diskin Elementary School was recently the recipient of $10,000 worth of new nonfiction books.

The funds for the books were donated by KLAS-TV and Community Pride Partners and Clark County READS.

Clark County READS, an initiative of the Public Education Foundation, has six programs that promote the importance of literacy. The recent donation was through the group's Library Enhancement Program.

Diskin was the 62nd school that has received new nonfiction books through the program.

During a book presentation in Diskin's library, Clark County READS program manager Curtis Jones shared his feelings about books with the schoolchildren and adults who were present.

"Books will influence your life one way or another," Jones said. "Books are built with knowledge."

Jones also said being in Diskin was somewhat sentimental for him because it was where he held his first teaching job.

The school's new books cover a variety of topics, from baseball and animals to state histories and exercise.

Diskin principal Beth Smith shared her affection for books during the presentation, as well.

"When I was a child, I was an only child and books were my friend," she said. "You can't escape books -- books are part of your life."

After the honor choir sang "Dr. Seuss We Love You," and "Open A Book," attendees were treated to juice and cookies, and children were allowed to check out some of the books they were eyeing.

"We had a lot of books that were out of date," Smith said. "The books that were too old or no longer historically correct were weeded out by our librarian and helpers. And teachers had the opportunity to give advice on what type of books would complement what they are teaching in class."

To date, the Library Enhancement Program has been involved in gathering 52,000 new nonfiction books worth $887,200 to replace outdated books in 62 schools throughout the county.

"We're just really happy we got the books," Smith said. "We push reading here. And it's just so nice to see the shelves full."

Clark County READS' five other programs include Reading Is Fundamental, Boots Up For Reading Book Club, Reach Out and Read, Reading Partner and Book Re-Use.

More information can be found by visiting www.clarkcountyreads.org or by calling 799-5437.