S.S. Conner Elementary School in Dallas, TX hosted a three-day Literacy Summit sponsored by Kia America and the Dallas Education Foundation (DEF) from February 21 to 23. The event aimed to promote literacy by providing students with the opportunity to add to their home library collections.
During the summit, more than 600 students from Pre-K to 5th grade attended the book fair and explored the books on offer, guided by their teachers or media specialists to ensure age-appropriate and culturally relevant materials. The students were encouraged to select three books to take home, and teachers facilitated guided read-along sessions with the chosen books, promoting interaction and participation from students.
An additional 300 books were donated to the school library and teacher, which will enhance the reading experience of students. “We are so pleased at Kia America to be supporting childhood literacy and helping students at S.S. Conner Elementary School to fall in love with reading. It’s a wonderful opportunity for each of these children to bring 3 books home with them as well as add new books to their school library,” Scott Martin, Kia America Southwest Regional Director said.
The summit featured a Scholastic Book Fair and read-along sessions with teachers tying the reading material to classroom instruction; this approach facilitates a lifelong love of reading by providing students with agency in selecting and curating a home collection of books they find culturally relevant and interesting.
“We are thrilled to partner with Kia America and the Dallas Education Foundation to bring this exciting Literacy Summit to S.S. Conner Elementary School. Literacy is a fundamental building block for success, and we believe that this event, which ties the books on offer with instruction, will have a positive impact on our students for years to come,” Principal Kiashan King said.
The Dallas Education Foundation is committed to advancing literacy, supporting early learning, and driving postsecondary success at Dallas ISD through funding and organizing initiatives like the Literacy Summit at S.S. Conner Elementary School. “Together with Kia America and Dallas ISD, we are helping to create a lifelong love of reading by providing students agency in selecting and curating a home library of books they find culturally relevant and of interest,” Mita Havlick, DEF Executive Director said.
