Education
Education

Atlanta students given books for summer reading

By Mark Niesse
May 5, 2014

Each student at Dunbar Elementary in Atlanta’s Mechanicsville neighborhood picked 12 books each last week that they took home for summer reading.

The books were distributed through Athens-based Books for Keeps in partnership with Atlanta Public Schools and the Annie E. Casey Foundation Civic Site in Atlanta.

After Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal greeted students, they had between 20 and 30 minutes to browse books before carrying them home in a tote bag provided by Books for Keeps.

Books for Keeps Executive Director Leslie Hale said children need access to books during the summer to avoid learning loss while they’re out of school.

About the Author

Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.

Follow Mark Niesse on twitter
More Stories

Keep Reading

Wade Roberts (center), a Decatur parent with children in three of the city schools, addresses concerns with the possibility of a K-2 school closing. (Daniel Varnado for the AJC)

Credit: Daniel Varnado/For the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Some Decatur parents feel blindsided by school plans, few details

Aggravation brews over lack of specifics and what some see as poor communication.

Full circle: Sisters who were APS students now serve as APS principals

Sisters Kristy Reese and Kimberly Gibbs spent 12 years in Atlanta Public Schools and now educate others in the same system as school principals.

Atlanta parents, residents object to plans to close some schools

Due to lower enrollment and climbing costs, 16 school buildings would be repurposed under the plan, with several schools closing and their students rezoned for other schools.

The Latest

Kimberly Gibbs (left) and Kristy Reese pose for a portrait at L.O. Kimberly Elementary School, Thursday, Oct. 23, in Atlanta. Reese is principal of Kimberly Elementary School, while her sister, Kimberly Gibbs, is principal of Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Full circle: Sisters who were APS students now serve as APS principals

Some Decatur parents feel blindsided by school plans, few details

Long-range plan could significantly change Atlanta’s schools

Featured

Rose Scott signals as Closer Look goes on air in the WABE studio. An Atlanta resident left WABE a $3 million donation, a boost after WABE lost $1.9 million in annual funding from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting. (Ben Gray / AJC file)

Credit: Ben Gray

Donor leaves WABE $3 million, largest individual gift in station’s history

An Atlanta resident has bequeathed WABE a $3 million donation, the largest one-time individual donation in the nonprofit media operation’s 76-year history.

Usher sues business partners over failed Buckhead restaurant plan

Atlanta singer Usher wants his money back after loaning $1.7 million to music producer Bryan-Michael Cox and others to buy a Buckhead restaurant property for $6.3 million.

Braves’ original ‘Freeze’ is retired. But you probably still can’t catch him.

As the Atlanta Braves prepare to find their next sprinting mascot, Nigel Talton is enjoying his new career coaching high school athletes at McEachern High.