Midkiff Elementary applied for a Reading Rock Stars Grant in early October. There were only two schools from the region that were chosen this year for the grant. This is a 3-year grant and winning schools get three visiting authors on the same day and a free book from the presenting author is given to each student.
Our presenting authors this year:
*Rafael Lopez (PK, K, 1st)- "We've Got the Whole World in Our Hands"
*Steven Weinberg (2nd, 3rd)- "You Must Be This Tall"
*Julissa Arce (4th, 5th)- "Someone Like Me"
The Texas Book Festival’s Reading Rock Stars program is a hands-on literacy initiative that sends nationally recognized authors into Title I schools in Texas to inspire young readers with dynamic presentations and send them home with the most empowering experience of all – owning their very own book.
The Texas Book Festival funds and coordinates the author visits and are the ones to donate the books to the students while also providing a set of books to each of the school’s library. Since the inception of the program, the Texas Book Festival has donated more than 93,000 books to students in Title I schools and provided 385 author visits. The Reading Rock Stars program is available to Title I Elementary schools in Austin, the Rio Grande Valley, Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston.