Alcove Trails Middle School is Frenship’s newest middle school and they're currently working to fill the shelves with books in the library. Having another middle school give back in this area tremendously helps grow the collection of books.
“All of the Frenship schools and their media specialists have been such a big help with this endeavor. In fact, I have books coming from FMS and TVMS, as well,” said Darby Pilgram, Alcove Trails Media Specialist. “I can't tell you how many times they have asked me, "How can we help you?" Opening a new library in a new school is a huge undertaking, and their support has been invaluable!”
Heritage donated 270 books to the Alcove Trails library, which gives students more options of books to explore and pick from.
“This gives our students more choices when selecting a book. Also, it added some of the more popular titles that we did not yet have, but students are excited to read,” said Pilgram.
Christina Miller, Library Assistant at Heritage Middle School, believes that books are an important investment in a student’s educational career, and a good selection can take a while to accumulate.
“Alcove Trails was grateful for the funds provided by the district and was able to open their library with about 1,000 books in their collection. Darby Pilgrim did a fantastic job of ordering a well-rounded library with the resources she was given. However, 1,000 books do not go far when being shared by over 400 students,” said Miller. “HMS wants students at Alcove Trails to have access to a wide variety of books and felt it was important to share from our abundance. We wanted to foster a sense of community and knowledge-sharing between our schools.”
Having a donation of books creates an impact deeper than building the library, it impacts students' love for reading.
“It's not just about having a lot of books. It's about having a lot of variety in your collection. It's about having the right books in your collection. With more books at our disposal, we have a greater opportunity to put the right book at the right time in the hands of a student. I am a firm believer that everybody is a voracious reader deep down inside, and it is my calling to help them find that love of reading. I just have to help them find the right book! Every book added to our collection is one more opportunity to match a student with their new favorite book,” said Pilgram.
While books open the door to a world of opportunities, they are also a financial investment.
“Books, especially library bound books, are quite expensive, usually averaging $20-$25 per book. To be considered a Proficient library by Texas State Library Standards, a secondary school library collection needs to have at least 10,000 print titles. Donations such as this one and others help us to reach that goal faster and more cost effectively,” said Pilgram.
The students at Alcove Trails could not be happier to see the growth of books in their library.
“The students were very excited to see more books at ATMS this week! Many were surprised to see entire series of books that hadn't been there last week,” said Miller. “Seeing smiles on students' faces when they see books that they are looking for is exactly why we wanted to share with ATMS!”
The donation from one school to another is a direct example of The Frenship Way Serve Model.
The Serve Model is rooted in the culture of Frenship ISD. Serve stands for: smile, engage, respect, volunteer, and encourage.
To go the extra mile and help others in need reflects the tradition of excellence, and commitment to community and leadership that has defined Frenship ISD for our 80+ year history.