On the first Wednesday of each month, the student council officers of Lake Highlands High School file into their cars, books in tow, for lunch.
On this day, however, Burger King isn’t their destination, and the books aren’t for class.
These are children’s books, and the high school students are going to Stults Elementary to read to kindergarten through second grade students eagerly awaiting their arrival.
Stults counselor Karen Kraft first approached the LHHS student council in August in hopes of helping not only her students, but the older students as well.
“I thought it would be a good way to improve the younger students’ ability and desire to read,” she says. “But I also think it’s helpful for the high school students to be able to interact with people of a different age group.”
Senior Courtney Spearman worked closely with Kraft to organize the project, which began in September. Other Lake Highlands students who are volunteers are Laura Abegg, Christiana Biggs, Kelan Dorsey, Clay Falls, Elisa Fink, Aaron Finnin, Aimee Haynes, Leigh Ann Highbaugh, Julle Leutz, Amanda Lewis, Sara Loaring-Clark, Brian Marr, Lindsey McCabe, Michael McMahan, Lindsey McNutt, Marisa Pacey, Whitney Roberts and Granger Smith.
“I was excited about this project because it’s so neat to see the kids’ faces light up when we come to the room to read,” Spearman says.
Each officer takes turns purchasing new children’s books to read, earning them a portion of the points required to remain on the student council.
The students are divided into pairs for each classroom, and they read for 30 minutes. The book is then donated to the Stults library, and the teacher can finish reading any stories that aren’t completed.
Though the idea began as a one-time event, Spearman and the student council decided to adopt it for a semester, and now want to continue through the spring.
“We just had so much fun doing it, we wanted to keep it as a project for the rest of the year,” Spearman says.
