CITY OF INDUSTRY – Hacienda La Puente Unified School District has partnered with Scholastic Inc. to provide free, carefully curated book packs to students before winter break, supporting the District’s inaugural Holiday Reading Campaign beginning Dec. 17.

Hacienda La Puente Unified’s new District Librarian, Lesley Jarrett, has played an integral part in the campaign, selecting and distributing the reading material for every HLPUSD student in transitional kindergarten through 12th grade.

The Holiday Reading Campaign aims to foster a reading culture in the home and promote the skills and knowledge that lead to longtime academic advantages.

“Reading helps make students better learners and communicators, but it also makes them better humans too,” Jarrett said.”This District believes in diverse literature, and I was honored to assist with selecting reading campaign material that not only delivers academic learning stories but narratives that foster social and emotional learning.”

Since joining Hacienda La Puente Unified in August, Jarrett has assisted teachers and administrators with their research, special projects and curated book collections for the Holiday Reading Campaign book packs and SORA digital library.

The SORA digital library includes thousands of ebooks and audiobooks that work in conjunction with Hacienda La Puente Unified and Scholastic Inc.’s Holiday Reading Campaign to support the District’s continuous efforts to ensure students have reading materials available at any time.

“When I first started supporting our use of SORA, the District told me to make the collection about the fun of reading and that was music to my ears,” Jarrett said. “I always think of the students when selecting books for our District. What will speak to them? What will help them feel understood? Most importantly, what will make them happy they read a book?”

The Holiday Reading Campaign was funded by Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act. The grant program is available to local education agencies and schools to ensure children have an equal opportunity to obtain a high-quality education.

The Campaign’s take-home book packs contain five free novels and a journal provided by Scholastic Inc., appealing to students’ reading and grade level and relevant interests and coursework.

“Thank you to the Title I program funding, Scholastic Inc., and District Librarian Lesley Jarrett for your continuous support that made this Holiday Reading Campaign possible,” Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services Dr. Judy Fancher said. “Hacienda La Puente Unified School District is proud to give our students the gift of reading this holiday season.”

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HLPUSD_BOOKPACKS: California Elementary School issues students take-home book packs through the District’s Holiday Reading Campaign.