From left, Deb Rein, Washington Middle School English teacher; Andrea Marsh, Washington Middle School assistant principal; Heidi Maggio, Lincoln Elementary School third grade teacher; Drew Maggio, Lincoln student; Diana Meckley, of the Kiwanis Club; and Cindy Johnson, Love Elementary School principal stand with copies of Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. Submitted photo

About 2,500 Jamestown Public Schools elementary and middle school students will bring home a copy of Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White, and begin reading it with their families and class on Monday, May 8.

For the second straight year, JPS will take part in a unique, national family literacy program called One District, One Book, made possible by nonprofit Read to Them, designed to strengthen the educational connection between home and school.

Staff and families from all eight JPS elementary and middle schools helped select Charlotte’s Web. Each school nominated titles that were available in both English and Spanish and then all staff and families voted from that list of nominations, said C.V. Bush Elementary School Principal Kate Benson.

“Reading a book together is another way to unite our schools and community,” Benson added. “We had so many community members volunteer to read with our students, or help with classroom projects that aligned with the book. The experience has been so lasting that last year, at a local sporting event, students from different JPS schools were talking with each other about their experience reading the WishTree.”

JPS will join schools and districts across North America who have undertaken the community literacy strategy by reading and discussing this classic story about a spider who weaves an elaborate plan to save a pig. In school, students will experience dynamic assemblies, answer trivia questions, and engage in creative extension activities including an upcoming field trip to a local farm.