Duncan McDougall, CLiF Executive Director, visits with Dr. Crisp students in 2017 at the kickoff event for Year of the Book programming. Dr. Crisp is one of 10 schools in New Hampshire and Vermont that will receive a $25,000 literacy grant.

WATERBURY CENTER, Vt. – The Children’s Literacy Foundation recently announced the 10 schools in New Hampshire and Vermont selected to receive its $25,000 CLiF Year of the Book literacy grant during the 2022-2023 school year.

Dr. Norman W. Crisp Elementary Schools is one of the 10 schools awarded a $25,000 grant from the Children’s Literacy Foundation of Waterbury Center, Vermont.

he grant will go towards books for classrooms and students as well as author visits and other special events.

Dr. Crisp is building on its literacy initiatives, having first received a CLiF Year of the Book grant in 2017. In that time, Dr. Crisp has hosted a number of incentive events, all to encourage reading for study and for pleasure.

“Reading is everything at Dr. Crisp,” said Cherrie Fulton, principal at Dr. Crisp. “Many of our students in the upper grades remember the impact of the Year of the Book from the 2017-2018 school year, and have vivid memories of author visits and book giveaways. This upcoming year is going to be even better. We can’t wait!”

The CLiF Year of the Book is awarded to elementary and middle schools serving pre-K through grade 6 that have demonstrated a commitment to literacy and creative ideas for celebrating reading and writing.

“CLiF was so impressed by the enthusiasm of all our Year of the Book grant applicants,” said program director Meredith Scott. “Their dedication to their students and their community, especially with the difficulties of COVID, and the creativity with which they plan to apply Year of the Book to their classroom and school calendars, really inspired our team.”

Goals for the Year of the Book are to create a culture of literacy within a school community, encourage reading and writing, integrate literacy into other areas of the curriculum, increase family engagement in literacy, and make high-quality books accessible to all students. The program offers author and storyteller visits, inspiring literacy activities, fun family events, new books for both the school and local public library, new books for classrooms, and 10 new books for each student to choose and keep.

The Year of the Book kicks off at the beginning of the school year with an invigorating storytelling presentation and an initial book giveaway. Additional literacy events and book giveaways continue through the year.

Over the last two school years, Year of the Book programming has been a little different, with some events virtual or outdoors, and book giveaways modified according to pandemic guidelines. That has not stopped CLiF from celebrating literacy with schools across both states, and delivering books into the hands of children who need them most.

The CLiF team anticipates an exciting year of literacy celebrations with our newest Year of the Book communities.

About the Children’s Literacy Foundation (CLiF)

CLiF is a non-profit organization whose mission is to nurture a love of reading and writing among low income, at-­risk, and rural children up to age 12 throughout New Hampshire and Vermont. Since 1998, CLiF has supported and inspired 350,000 young readers and writers through its literacy program grants and has given away $9 million in new, high ­quality children’s books. For more information about CLiF, visit www.clifonline.org.

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