NAMPA, Idaho — Student ambassadors at Iowa Elementary School recently purchased a new vending machine with the money they raised last school year.
Instead of candy and soda, this new vending machine will be dispensing books for students.
The 4th and 5th grade student ambassadors brainstormed for a school project and came up with a vending machine filled with books. With a grand total of $7,800, the school was able to make an idea become a reality.
There are many book vending machines across the Treasure Valley, but this will be the first for the Nampa School District. The school held a ribbon cutting event Thursday to commemorate this milestone.
"We hope that this will help bridge the gap between reading at home and at school by allowing students to take books they have earned and chosen home. Studies show that students that read at home with their parents are more likely to become lifelong readers,” said Jennifer Owen Tillotson, Family and Community Resource Coordinator at Iowa Elementary School.
The principal of Iowa Elementary School, Preston Pruett said the school recognizes students for their good behavior and achievements and rewards them with a golden token for the vending machine.
“So, we know that reading is really important for students," Pruett said. "And so, we are encouraging students to be able to have books at their house and so they receive the books for free and take them home and enjoy them with their families. And be able to benefit from reading.”
The hope is to bridge the gap between each student's ability to read at home, and in school.
Nampa mayor Debbie Kling also attended today's ribbon cutting ceremony, and read to students with a book purchased from the vending machine.
White Pine Elementary School in Boise opened their book vending machine in January 2023, the first within the Boise School District.
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