Rewarding kids with reading

Students at King Elementary School now have a new incentive for studious behavior after their new book vending machine was unveiled Monday, March 23.

The machine was purchased for the school through a local grant from the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation with the goal of promoting literacy as a reward for good behavior.

Students who display their efforts to behave according to the “King Way” will earn tokens which they can exchange through the vending machine for a book to embark on a new literary journey.

“Our students follow the “King School Way” here — being responsible, being respectful, being attentive and appreciative. As they do that they’ll earn a token to put into the vending machine to celebrate their accomplishments here at school, whether that be literacy, behavior, or whatever other goals they have here at school,” said King Elementary Fourth-Grade Teacher Jessica Cook.

Cook has been a part of the book vending machine process from the very beginning and said she is proud to see the excitement the kids displayed when it was finally unveiled.

“Our district sends out weekly reminders to sign up for grants, scholarships and things going on within the district. This grant was specifically on there and I am part of the behavior group here at King and we are always looking for creative and innovative ways to help students with appropriate behavior as well as literacy,” said Cook.

“It has been a little bit of a long road from writing the grant to getting the books to getting the vending machine in our building, all with small little hiccups that we figured out how to overcome. But now we can celebrate with the students and get books right into their hands.”

Director of Grants and Scholarship Programming at the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation Kari Olsen said that seeing this grant come to fruition has been very rewarding for her and is exactly in line with their mission.

“These are really exciting grants. This type of work that supports literacy and gets kids excited to read is the exact kind of work we want to do to support the community,” said Olsen.

“The School Spirit Educational Endowment supports innovative work happening at the Green Bay public schools, just like this literacy grant.”

The intent of the machine is to foster a positive connection between reading and good behavior, allowing students to view the opportunity to earn a new book as a positive reward for their efforts in the classroom.

According to Olsen, the concept for the vending machine was the result of local teachers being aware of the most effective ways to encourage reading among their students.

“Teachers and staff have some of the most innovative and creative ways of how to meet students,” said Olsen.