Last week, Albuquerque Reads volunteers worked with Albuquerque Public Schools faculty and staff to distribute backpacks stuffed with books, lap desks, and other school supplies to nearly 250 students at three Title I partner schools.
Each kindergartner at Whittier Elementary and Atrisco Elementary received a backpack that contained five books and two sight word flashcards; the first graders at those schools received backpacks with four books and some stickers inside. All backpacks also contained a lap desk, ruler, and three folders to hold their work. Kindergarten and first-grade students at Bel-Air Elementary will receive their backpacks of books and supplies at the end of next week.
Ordinarily, Albuquerque Reads sends 300 volunteers into three partner Title I APS schools for in-person literacy tutoring. With the pandemic and ongoing remote instruction making in-person reading time impossible, the Chamber worked with local business and community readers to record readings of children’s books and a few reading comprehension questions. You can view the recorded read-alouds on Albuquerque Public Schools’ YouTube channel here.
Over the course of the year, students will receive 20 books to start their at-home library and read with family. The next distribution will take place shortly before the winter break in December, so students will have plenty of new reading material in advance of their time off from school.