United Way hosts Book Fair for 360 Daniel J. Flood Elementary students

WILKES-BARRE — At the recent United Way of Wyoming Valley’s Book Fair, Marlena Nockley, Principal at Daniel J. Flood Elementary School, said reading is fundamental to a child’s future success in school.

“When students do not read throughout the summer, they are at risk of falling behind,” Nockley said. “The books received help our families in need and provide the students with necessary reading material for their academic success.”

This week, 360 K-3 students at Daniel J. Flood Elementary School attended a book fair hosted by the United Way of Wyoming Valley.

Earlier this spring, the United Way partnered with local businesses and organizations to conduct its 8th Annual Children’s Book Drive and collected a record 19,480 new and gently used books.

In addition to the annual book fair, books were distributed to early learning centers, schools, and non-profit organizations throughout the Wyoming Valley.

At the book fair, students were able to pick six books to take home and read with their families over summer break.

The book fair is part of the United Way’s “Tag In” Summer Learning Program which encourages children from kindergarten to grade three to practice their literacy skills over the summer. Students who read at least six books will be rewarded with an ice cream party when they return to school in the fall.

“When teachers ‘Tag Out’ for the summer, parents must ‘Tag In’ while students are out of school to avoid potential learning loss,” said Ashley Winslow, Director of Community Impact. “The ‘Tag In’ Book Fair eliminates the barrier of access to books, expands home libraries for families, and offers a special incentive to students as motivation to keep reading during the summer months.”

Winslow noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on the education of young students and statistics show that only 36% of third-graders in the Wyoming Valley are reading at grade level. Reading proficiently by third grade can be a determining factor of future academic achievement and success in life.

Winslow said that the United Way of Wyoming Valley is a very active member of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading — a nationwide movement working to ensure more children from low-income families are reading at grade-level by the end of third grade, and works closely with many of our local schools, early childhood learning centers, and community organizations to address the needs of at-risk children.

For more information, visit the website: www.unitedwaywb.org.