Thousands of free books to be mailed to Tennessee kindergartners
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – Kindergarten students in Hamilton County will soon be receiving free books, and more counties could soon follow.
Over 22,000 books will be mailed directly to the homes of Hamilton County kindergarteners from the Tennessee Governor’s Education and Literacy Foundation (GELF).
They are testing a new program that would distribute six free books per student in conjunction with school districts.
GELF, which already helps fund Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, says this can further help bridge the literacy gap.
James Pond, the President of GELF, said, “This rising K program is really a huge lift for us to be able to create a seamless opportunity for literacy resources to be in the home, from the time a child is born all the way through third grade.”
59,000 books overall will be mailed across the state, and the program hopes to roll this program out statewide next year.
