TAMPA, Fla. — As summer vacation approaches, thousands of children across the Tampa Bay area will face the challenge of continuing their education outside the classroom.
To help bridge that gap, Tampa Bay 28 partnered with Legacy Preparatory Academy in Tampa this spring to help 75 students take home five new books each.
Through the Scripps Howard Fund, the parent company of Tampa Bay 28, students in need across the area are receiving new books they get to keep, rather than borrowing them from a library. The 375 books were provided thanks to viewer donations to the fund.
On Thursday morning, dozens of smiling students flipped through pages as they picked out their summer reading material. Over the course of the coming days, all 375 books will go home with the children, who get to select the titles themselves.
Dr. Yolonda Capers has been at Legacy Preparatory Academy for over 20 years and knows the challenge of getting children to read, especially when books are hard to come by.
"Teaching them about ownership, how important that is. You know, we can read everything online nowadays, but there's nothing like holding a book in your hand," Capers said.
"Certain kids like to read, certain kids don't, right? They like to look at the pictures, you know, read the book, put it down," Capers said.
While the students had the freedom to choose their books, educators guided them toward appropriate reading materials.
"Like with the older kids, they were selecting books that were way below their level. So, we sort of pushed them to select books that were on their level and maybe even a little bit above their level," Capers said. "They select what they want, but we still pushed them to, you know, get the grade-level books," Capers said.
For the students, the event was an exciting opportunity to explore new stories.
"Yeah, I think they're interesting, and I like them. They're like really cool," said Arabella Montavo, a third grader.
"I love reading books that kind of don't make sense. Sometimes it's just the books that make no sense are the best books," said Darleen Lopez, a sixth grader.
The shared experience of picking out books also helps bring the children together.
"I feel like when you have people that want to build their vocabulary, you know, you have similarities, so it builds the relationship," said Luv-Joy James, an 8th grader.
"We're trying to build a lifelong love of reading and learning and knowledge," Capers said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Share Your Story with Blake
Tourism and the environment are backbones to our way of life in Florida, and Blake Phillips is dedicated to covering those topics. Use the form below to reach out to Blake and start a conversation.
.
Wiregrass Elementary staff report injuries, Pasco County Schools investigates
Pasco County Schools is investigating Wiregrass Elementary after teachers and staff reported on-the-job injuries and a lack of administrative support.
