FREDERICKSBURG, Texas — A Fredericksburg ISD teacher is hoping to get students interested in reading in a unique way.
Nathan Lorraine teaches fifth grade reading and language arts at Fredericksburg Elementary School and, according to the district, he's passionate about helping students get inspired by reading books that spark their imagination.
Last fall, Fredericksburg ISD said Lorraine applied for an Educator's Grant from the district's Education Foundation to fund the book vending machine.
The machine operates using special tokens that are awarded to students who challenge themselves to read books that interest them. Once a student gets a token, it can be dropped into the machine, located in the Fredericksburg Elementary School library. Students then get to keep the book the choose from the machine.
Fredericksburg ISD said the first round of books for the machine was purchased using the grant dollars. The Fredericksburg Rotary Club is stepping up to help maintain the program by providing books, and some proceeds from Scholastic Book Fairs hosted by Librarian Carrie Roemer will be used as well.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the book vending machine will be held from 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 18, at Fredericksburg Elementary School, located at 1608 N. Adams St.
Fredericksburg ISD said since the district's Education Foundation began funding grants in 2019, it has donated more than $450,000 through campus and educator grants to "help support positive, innovative and educational learning opportunities" for the district's students.