'Arkansas Reads' Program Delivers Books to Delta Elementary School

Photo by John Baltz

Interim chancellor Dan Ferritor reads Dr. Seuss to students at C.B. Partee Elementary in Brinkley.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Arkansas Reads program sponsored by the University of Arkansas delivered more than 5,000 books to C.B. Partee Elementary in Brinkley on Monday, Sept. 21. The school welcomed the books with a celebratory event that included the school’s principal Linda Hamilton, the Brinkley superintendent of schools Dr. Arthur Tucker, and the city’s mayor Billy Hankins. School supporters and former teachers were on hand for the event as well. The children, all wearing Razorback red T-shirts listened intently to interim Chancellor Dan Ferritor, as he read them Oh the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss.

“It was an amazing day,” said Ferritor. “The staff and the teachers are incredibly dedicated, and their good work is evident in the students from pre-K to 6th grade.  All are eager to learn, and it is very important to emphasize that one of the places they will go is college.”

Enrollment Services at the U of A coordinates the Arkansas Reads program, with support from campus partners. Since 2009, the program has collected over 9,000 books for elementary schools in the Arkansas Delta. Other Arkansas Reads schools include Mildred Jackson Elementary in Hughes (now consolidated), Marvell-Elaine Elementary in Marvell, and Whitten Elementary in Marianna.

“We were thrilled to be an Arkansas Reads school,” said Hamilton.

“The books are a great addition to our classrooms, and our students enjoyed meeting the chancellor and the University of Arkansas students and staff who came to deliver the books. They also loved having their pictures taken with the Razorbug. Such events are incredibly important to us because they plant the seeds early that college needs to be an expectation and that learning is fun.”

Arkansas Reads added a new component to the program this year thanks to a $5,000 grant from the University of Arkansas Women’s Giving Circle designed to promote STEM education, particularly among elementary-aged girls. Enrollment Services staff identified 20 children’s books that featured women scientists as protagonists, and 20 University of Arkansas faculty, staff, students, and alumni also chose books that were influential in their childhoods. To accompany these books, each volunteer recorded an audio introduction, discussed the value of higher education, and read a section of the book. U of A honors seniors Armin Mortazavi, who is majoring in physics and biochemistry; Elizabeth Pittman, a business economics major; and Hilary Zedlitz, majoring in Arabic and economics, were also on hand at the event to read to the students.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Women’s Giving Circle, to all our partners, and to each person who donated a book to this effort,” said Suzanne McCray, vice provost for enrollment services. “Our program began five years ago with a generous gift from a donor, and we have been able to deliver thousands of books for more than a thousand children to enjoy. We just received another generous gift, and we will soon be able to reach out to students with digital books as well.”

Arkansas Reads set a new record for the number of books collected this year. Jonathan Langley, assistant director of the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards in Enrollment Services coordinated the collection effort, and he and Jeremy Burns, associate director of the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards, delivered the books to the school. Campus partners include Parice Bowser, director of Greek Life, and the Panhellenic Council, which collected 1,700 books in collaboration with University of Arkansas sororities. The Division of Advancement collected over 700 books, and nearly 1,000 books were donated by the annual Charlie Brown Book Sale held at Vandergriff Elementary. Additional books were donated by the Fayetteville Public Library and through donation boxes placed around campus and at Nightbird Books.

Support for Arkansas Reads was also provided by the Brown Chair of English Literacy, the Center for Arkansas and Regional Studies, the College of Engineering, the Honors College and Advanced Placement Summer Institute, and the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards.