29 school districts participating in Summer Boost program

FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) - Twenty-nine school districts will be participating in this year's Summer Boost: Reading and Mathematics Program, a partnership between the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), the Summer Food Service Program and the Children's Reading Foundation.

The Summer Boost program will promote family participation in reading and math by giving away free books and fun items like wristbands, bookmarks and magnets, intended to motivate and remind families to read 20 minutes every day. Each participating district will receive about 1,000 books to distribute at their meal sites. Families interested in having their child participate should contact their local Summer Food Service Department for more information about meal service sites within their district.

Participating district include: Adair County, Bourbon County, Bowling Green Independent, Bullitt County, Butler County, Calloway County, Carter County, Clark County, Erlanger-Elsmere Independent, Fairview Independent, Franklin County, Grant County, Henderson County, Henry County, Jackson Independent, Jefferson County, Lincoln County, Livingston County, Marion County, McCracken County, Meade County, Menifee County, Middlesboro Independent, Oldham County, Owsley County, Taylor County, Trimble County, Wayne County and Webster County.

This year's Summer Boost participants are the recipients of a generous donation of books on behalf of Age of Learning Inc. The publisher of ABC Mouse, Age of Learning Inc., donated 40,000 books to the summer program to support the educational initiatives and literacy development of Kentucky's students.

"We are eager to work together and look forward to making a positive impact on the lives of many young learners," said Natasha Bullock, the manager of Age of Learning Inc.

Summer Boost coordinators also will direct families to KDE's online Summer Support webpages, which are available to all Kentucky families. The summer support webpages offer information and resources to encourage students and families to make learning a part of daily summer routines. Other resources available on the webpages include information for families and caregivers, along with literacy, mathematics, and gifted and talented resources.