The Coon Rapids-Bayard (CR-B) School District has announced they are the recipients of a $1,300 youth literacy grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. School business official and Treasurer of the CR-B Education Foundation, Paige Huntley, wrote the grant and said the funds will be used for the district to participate in the “One Book One School” program. At the beginning of this month, every family who had a pre-kindergarten through sixth-grade CR-B student received the book, “The One and Only Ivan,” by Katherine Applegate. The families have been following a detailed reading schedule that has them covering a pre-selected number of pages each night with their children. They are then encouraged to discuss questions that have been posted on the CR-B website home page. And this year, the CR-B Family Fun Night has been moved so that it will coincide with the conclusion of the scheduled readings. It will now take place on Monday, Oct. 17 at 6:30 p.m. with a theme that matches the book. The night’s activities will be previewed the week prior with classroom visits by Carroll County Naturalist, Matt Weitrick, who will bring a bird from SOAR (Saving Our Avian Resources) to the school. The Family Fun Night will then include a bald eagle presentation from Kay Neumann of SOAR. Huntley said the school is very grateful for the contribution and for being a part of the $4.5 million Dollar General Literacy Grant program that has provided grants to nearly 1,000 organizations over 43 states.
