The 307 students at Russell Cave Elementary were especially excited about Spring Break because they each received a red bag of new and gently used books to take home. The donation of more than 1,200 books came courtesy of their young counterparts at Sayre School. “Reaching out to the community has always been important to us, and we know Russell Cave is a great school doing great things,” said Sayre parent Sarah Chapman, who coordinated the book drive. “It’s neat for our kids to make such a connection and share the books they love.”
The donations included a range of topics, from classics like “To Kill a Mockingbird” to the ever-popular “Harry Potter” series. The Russell Cave teachers sorted them by reading level and individualized each student’s bag according to their abilities and interests. Sayre also pitched in some preschool picture books for younger siblings at home. “Books are such good passports to other times and places,” Chapman said. “We’re just happy to help and put some books in kids’ hands.”
Susan DuArte, the social worker at Russell Cave, had reached out to her alma mater with this idea and was thrilled with the project’s success. “This generous community partnership represents the benefits of public and private schools working together to make a difference in the lives of Lexington schoolchildren,” DuArte said. “How fortunate our children are that so many community partners are willing to commit their time and resources to enrich learning experiences for all children.”