- The Canyons Education Foundation and Operation Literacy launch partnership with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.
- The late country singer's book-giving program has placed books in the homes of millions of preschoolers.
- Utah educators say exposing preschoolers to books is a key to future reading success.
Given her trademark humor and soft spot for early literacy, perhaps Dolly Parton was somewhere smiling Friday because of a reading initiative being launched at a Utah school district.
The Canyons Education Foundation announced its partnership with Utah’s Operation Literacy to bring Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to preschool-age children across the southeastern portion of Salt Lake County.
Over three decades ago, Parton established her Imagination Library to foster reading in her home county in rural East Tennessee. Since then, the book-gifting initiative has spread across five countries and delivered hundreds of millions of books to little kids.
Now preschool children living in the Canyons School District Boundaries will be eligible to receive free, age-appropriate books each month in the mail as part of Parton’s initiative.
The Parton book-gifting program is funded through partnerships with local program partners such as the Canyons Education Foundation and Operation Literacy.
And it aims to instill an early love for reading at a moment when an alarming number of K-12 children in Utah and across the country are not proficient readers.
Why early literacy should happen ‘9 to 5’ — and beyond
The late Dolly Parton, who died last month at the age of 80, was never accused of being inconspicuous.
So, no surprise, the famed country singer/actress/philanthropist was a conspicuous presence at Friday’s partnership launch at Sandy’s Glacier Hills Elementary School. There was a life-sized cardboard Dolly cutout on one end of the school media center and photos of Dolly on the other end.
And the Friday morning event was held on Sept. 25 — or 9/25 — at 9:25, a playful nod to one of Parton’s signature tunes “9 to 5.”
The school district’s partnership with Operation Literacy and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is being launched with the belief “that big dreams start with a book,” said Canyon School District Superintendent McKay Robinson.
There are few skills, he added, as important for children as reading.
“But raising a reader does not begin on the first day of kindergarten — and it certainly doesn’t only happen between the hours of ‘9 to 5’.”
Learning to read, said Robinson, is also a communal endeavor. It happens when moms, dads, grandparents, aunts and uncles and teachers pull out their favorite books and read with a child.
Schools play key roles in early literacy. “But we also know that we can’t wait until a child walks through those doors to begin that work,” said Robinson.
“A strong foundation in literacy starts much earlier than that. This is why this Imagination Library is such a gift — one that Canyons Education Foundation is giving to our entire community.”
Canyons Education Foundation President Quinn Sperry said Friday that teaming up with the Parton book-giving initiative will bring the magic of literacy to scores of preschool kids.
“Imagine going to the mailbox to find a package with your name on it — and it’s not a bill,” said Sperry, laughing.
“You open it, and inside is a book that’s yours to keep. Then another arrives the following month, and then another. Imagine the family conversations those books will spark.”
Canyons is the largest school district in Utah to offer Parton’s book program, district-wide, said Sperry. “And we’re committed to raising funds needed to sustain the program.”
Early literacy keys: Curiosity and exposure to books
Canyons School District’s Instructional Supports Department Director Amber Roderick-Landward said the book-giving program announced Friday is another step in preparing young participants for reading success.
“We feel strongly about ensuring that literacy begins at home and that we have opportunities to talk about books.”
Access to books, she added, “just makes the world that much more exciting for kids.”
Reading is no different than mastering a sport. It requires frequent practice and muscle memory — especially for preschoolers taking their first literacy steps. “And that’s what’s so great about this program,” said Roderick-Landward. “Students are getting access to a variety of types of books.”
And while learning letters or mastering phonics is helpful for preschoolers, it’s more important that little ones develop a happy relationship with books before their first day of kindergarten.
“We want them to come to school with a curiosity and a desire to learn,” said Roderick-Landward. “We’ll cover the rest.”
Ashley Backman is a mother and a former kindergarten teacher who now serves as the Utah PTA’s Region 7 Chair. So she’s able to approach early literacy from multiple perspectives.
Today’s kids are surrounded by screens — so it’s sometimes challenging to get children to set down a device and pick up a book, said Backman.
“But it’s a priority that needs to happen because reading sets the (learning) foundation for the rest of their lives.”
Moms and dads, added Backman, are crucial to early literacy in preschoolers. Read with children — and let them see you reading.
“It’s all about exposure, exposure, exposure,” she said.