Members of the Jordan Elementary PTO hold up a banner celebrating the record amount of money they raised for their read-a-thon.
The Jordan Elementary School PTO raised a record $30,950.56 for its annual read-a-thon, earning the students a book vending machine.
The read-a-thon happened during February, which is “I Love to Read Month,” and elementary school students read 102,022 minutes or almost 71 continuous days. The PTO’s goal for this year’s read-a-thon was $15,000, which was over doubled. Combined with its fall fundraiser, the PTO has raised over $60,000 for the year, a record.
“We raised about $30,000 [during our fall fundraiser],” PTO President Nick Kilgren said. “So we’re really proud of [raising this much money] and really happy for the support from the community.”
The PTO has purchased a book vending machine for the elementary school and the PTO hopes it is installed by the end of the year. It works much like any other vending machine just instead of pop or candy, it’s books. Books can be obtained from the vending machine through the use of tokens that teachers and staff can pass out as rewards for good behavior.
In addition to the book vending machine, the money raised will provide funds that teachers can use as well as allow the PTO to pay for a field trip for every student.
“Every student of every grade — we’ll pay for one of their field trips which lowers the barriers for kids to go on a field trip and makes everyone have the ability to go,” Kilgren said. “We also set aside part of the budget — this year it was $20,000 — for teacher-specific requests, but we may increase that to $30,000 next year.”
The money also allows the PTO to provide meals for the teachers during conferences and to get staff appreciation gifts to thank them for their work. It also allows the PTO to host a fall family fun night and a spring carnival for families and community members.
The elementary school PTO meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. in the Jordan Elementary School Media Center. Parents in the elementary school can become new members of the PTO and community members are welcome to sit in on the meetings.
