Instead of snacks, new vending machines at Naomi Pasemann and Main Street elementary schools will provide students with reading options.
The Taylor Educational Enrichment Foundation partnered with the W.D. Kelley Foundation to provide the campuses with the bookvending machines. The Georgetown-based Kelley Foundation donated $9,000 for each device and its volumes.
At Pasemann, young readers can find the vending machine in the library and “buy” books for their personal collection using tokens. To receive tokens, students must complete their “bachelor degree” in the campus’ Reader In Me program.
Pasemann librarian Julie Snyder and Principal Cynthia Proctor are also working on incorporating other non-reading achievements into the token reward system, officials said.
The other vending machine can be found in Main Street’s lobby, where young scholars can trade 75 Duck Bucks for a token or receive one from librarian Vanessa Collier, a reward for reaching 100 points in the Renaissance Accelerated Reader program.
Educators said Duck Bucks are behavior-incentive rewards for Main Street students exemplifying one of seven habits from the Leader in Me program: Being proactive, having a plan, putting work first, thinking about everyone winning, listening before talking, synergizing and achieving balance.
The Duck Buck-token trade stemmed from the feedback the Lighthouse Group, a team of nine student leaders representing third to fifth grades, gathered from Main Street pupils on how they can receive tokens.
Renaissance’s AR program rewards readers for completing books by quizzing them and hands out points based on the book’s reading level to those who recall plot details, characters and more.
