A school district in Southwest Virginia is betting that the same technology Americans use to grab sodas and snacks can help turn around the state’s struggling reading scores.
Henry County Public Schools just unveiled book vending machines in all nine of its elementary schools, rewarding students with tokens for good behavior that they can exchange for books to keep. The program launches as students return to classes this week, part of a statewide push to address learning losses that have left Virginia children nearly seven-tenths of a grade level behind their pre-pandemic reading abilities.
“This is one step that we can take to make reading more fun, to make reading more accessible, and to just instill that lifelong love of reading and learning,” Henry County Superintendent Amy Blake-Lewis told WDBJ.
The effort comes as Virginia grapples with troubling data from the 2024 Education Scorecard. The average student in the Commonwealth performs about 0.4 grade equivalents lower than 2022 levels in reading and around 0.68 grade equivalents lower than 2019 levels. The numbers paint a sobering picture of what pandemic-era school closures cost American children.
Still, there’s reason for hope. Virginia ranked 10th among all states in reading recovery on this year’s scorecard, suggesting the state’s efforts are gaining traction.
“In this report, we highlight the work of a small group of state leaders who have started digging out by changing how students learn to read, and 108 local school districts that are finding ways to get students learning again,” said Tom Kane, head of the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University.
Beyond the vending machines, Virginians are turning to country music legend Dolly Parton for help. Her Imagination Library program promises a free book every month to children from birth until age 5, when they start kindergarten. A 2024 state law established a statewide program, though government bureaucracy has slowed implementation.
“Any time you do anything that involves government, it is not the fastest moving thing,” then-Republican Del. Carrie Coyner told VPM last year. She noted that Parton’s organization, local affiliates, and the state department of education were still working out the details of the statewide rollout.
Local communities aren’t waiting. The Junior League of the Roanoke Valley recently partnered with Roanoke’s school system and Vinton Baptist Church to launch their own Imagination Library program. Nearly 100 locally managed programs now operate across Virginia.
“The best way to ensure long-term literacy is to make sure that kids get a great, early start,” said Courtney Watson of the Junior League. “The earlier you can develop that passion for reading and that interest in reading, the more likely they are later on in their education to pursue it on their own.”
In Hampton Roads, REACH has served as the region’s “food bank of books” since 1998. The organization partners with more than 180 teachers, programs, and agencies to provide age-appropriate books for students through high school.
“Our program, The Big Free Bookstore, is the only one in the U.S. that distributes new books, school supplies, and hosts activities at no cost, serving thousands of families annually,” REACH states on its website.
Summer reading programs across the state are wrapping up as schools reopen, though some will continue through August or into September.
