Renton Rotary delivers dictionaries to third-graders
Published 1:33 pm Tuesday, October 29, 2013
For the eighth year, the Rotary Club of Renton this week presented dictionaries to more than 1,200 third-grade students in the Renton School District.
Rotary members have been visiting schools throughout the district and personally presenting students with the dictionaries. The students write their names in the books and take home to share with their families, a district release said.
“Our community, and Renton Rotarians in specific, understand the importance of student learning at home as well as at school,” said Merri Rieger, Renton School District superintendent. “By providing these dictionaries every year to third grade students, Renton Rotary members demonstrate their commitment to enhancing each child’s learning.”
The books cost more than $10,000 and were bought to ensure that each student has a personal dictionary at home. The gifts were a part of Rotary Club members efforts to promote early childhood education and stress the importance of student reading at grade level by third grade.
The district reports that students who received the dictionaries in the past said they used the books with their siblings or their parents to help teach them English.
Renton Rotary members also provide children with new coats for the winter and offer family free healthcare screening and treatment as part of their RotaCare project.
