Local Rotary clubs donate 1,600 books to schools

Sue Doyle

COSTA MESA -- Coins tossed into a fountain made wishes come true Friday

for three schools in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District.

Whittier, Pomona and Wilson elementary schools received a gift of 1,600

children’s books donated by Newport-Balboa, Newport-Irvine and Newport

Beach Sunrise Rotary clubs.

Some of the funds came from coins that had been tossed into a fountain at

Fashion Island.

The books are a part of “Reading by 9” a literacy program with a goal of

having 95% of third-graders reading at grade level. Another of the

program’s goals is to add one million new books to libraries for

kindergarten through third grade. This is the second year the Rotary

clubs have participated in the program, which is sponsored by the Los

Angeles Times.

“This makes a difference for the diverse students in our district,” said

Robert Barbot, the superintendent of Newport-Mesa schools.

Students particularly needed books in English because many speak it as a

second language.

Schools have tried to make up for the financial difference with home

libraries. They loan large quantities of books, stacked in colorful

plastic crates, to families to encourage reading. Families can keep the

books for as long as they need, said Sarah Markel, a teacher at Whittier.

“Many families don’t have the money and can’t afford books. I know the

best way to create literacy is to put books in the hands of children,”

Markel said.

Markel works with a group of second- and third-graders who read at a

level 40% below their peers. In her class, students are bombarded with

words, images and books to increase their reading capacity.

“They need that little extra boost to get over the line,” said Pat

Rothrock, a teacher’s assistant at Whittier.