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Donation To School Goes By The Book

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By RONNIE BLAIR, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 14, 2007

DADE CITY - Anthony Richardson surveyed the selection.

More than 500 books lay before him, some stacked in boxes, others spread out on the floor of Cox Elementary School's media center.

Here was the deal: Anthony, 10, could take any book. It would be his for free, an opportunity made available by students from Renaissance Academy, a private school on the other side of the county.

But time was short. Dawdling wouldn't do because the first wave of children needed to choose quickly and give way to the next group.

For Anthony, one title stood out. It was "Night of the Ninjas" by Mary Pope Osborne, the fifth in the Magic Tree House series about a couple of time-traveling youngsters.

"My teacher always reads these books," an excited Anthony said as he exited a side door with his treasure.

Teacher Shawn Graham seemed pleased.

"I love it when you guys get the Magic Tree House books," she said.

Lori Ekblad was pleased, too. All around her Thursday, children riffled through books, hoping to find one to match their interests and abilities.

Ekblad teaches language arts at Renaissance Academy. Recently, the New Port Richey school hosted Julianna Baggott, the author of several books for children.

Baggott is involved with a nonprofit organization called Kids In Need - Books In Deed, which brings free books to underprivileged children.

Baggott inspired the Renaissance Academy students to take on a book-giving project of their own. They raised money by holding a write-a-thon. They sought pledges from family and friends who paid them by the word as they wrote poems and stories.

Then they visited a Books-A-Million, where they purchased 535 books. Ekblad said she chose the students at Cox as recipients because of newspaper articles about the school's struggles to meet the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Cox, which serves a large percentage of children from low-income families, has failed to make adequate yearly progress, as measured by the federal government, for five years. That means the school district must plan for a major reorganization of the school, with the restructuring to take place during the 2008-09 school year if Cox still fails to meet the requirements.

"We felt a school trying this hard, we could help," Ekblad said.

She delivered the books Thursday morning, assisted by five Renaissance Academy students who raised the most money. They are: Brittany Farrell, 10, Sean Presti, 13, Sarah McKee, 11, Kendra Arcos, 11, and Adam Ekblad, 11, the teacher's son.

Micah Huba, a teacher assistant and senior at Renaissance Academy, also made the trip. The book giveaway had a special meaning for him.

"When I first went to Renaissance four years ago, I had a second-grade reading level," he said.

He improved his skills and now reads at a 10th-grade level, he said.

Melinda Smith, the reading specialist at Cox, was impressed with Renaissance Academy's generosity.

"I think it just shows how much kids really enjoy reading and want to share that love of reading with other kids," she said.

There were enough books for every Cox student to claim one, but a minor crisis arose when teachers realized they were short on books aimed at the youngest students.

That meant kindergartners might end up with books better suited for fifth-graders. Ekblad wasn't having any of that.

"It's important they get a book they can read," she said.

She sought directions to the Wal-Mart supercenter in Zephyrhills.

She and her students had one more book run to make.

Reporter Ronnie Blair can be reached at (813) 948-4218 or rblair@tampatrib.com.

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