Schultz Elementary School in Delaware recently received a President’s Award for Exceptional Performance from Scholastic Book Fairs. As a result of the honor, the school will receive money to spend on its library.
Schultz Elementary Library Media Specialist Rose Long said the awards are handed out every year, and she’s applied for several years trying to showcase the book fairs the school puts on.
“Our book fairs bring so much fun and joy to our students and families,” she said.
Long added the application process for the award required an essay on how the book fair was conducted as well as how it impacted the school.
Ten schools across the county won a President’s Award for Exceptional Performance in various categories. Schultz Elementary was honored for its virtual fair.
“I was surprised and so excited and proud that Schultz won the President Award for Virtual Book Fair!” Long said in an email Tuesday. “This was a difficult year and an unusual Book Fair for us! We did well for not being in person and all.”
Long said the book fair last year was totally online, and she used promotional videos to promote different books students could order. She added the award was made possible thanks to the support of the Schultz community.
“Schultz has an amazing group of students, families and staff!” Long said. “The support every year for our Book Fair is awesome and leaves me with such pride and humbles me each time! The amount of books that we are able to get into our students’ hands and into our library is fantastic! The excitement our students have for our Book Fair is great! I love, love our Book Fair!”
Long said she’s thankful for the parents who volunteer, the PTO for its donations, the staff for promoting the book fair, and for the students at Schultz.
“(We) cannot do this without our awesome students!” Long said. “It is so worth it all. The award will be used to bring more great books to our students!”
Superintendent Heidi Kegley said she’s proud of the school and Long for receiving the prize.
“We are so appreciative of the work our staff does to promote and celebrate literacy across the district,” Kegley said. “Mrs. Long and the entire staff at Schultz have done an outstanding job with their Scholastic Book Fairs, making quality reading materials available to families. It is exciting to see their work rewarded with additional resources to further enhance the library media center at Schultz Elementary.”
