Toledo’s Public Schools Receive Over 1000 New Textbooks through Philanthropy Organizations

First grader Damon Murdock, 7, who proudly states that he reads at a second grade level, looks at donated books with Superintendent Romules Durant at Old Orchard Elementary School.
THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT

Damon Murdock, a 7-year-old Old Orchard student, scanned the table of new books before picking up the one he found most intriguing: My Little Book of Animals.

“I like to watch Nat Geo Wild,” Damon said.

Students like Damon will have access to a variety of new books

Thanks to Women & Philanthropy and the University of Toledo’s Judith Herb College of Education, there will be more than 1,000 new textbooks in Toledo Public Schools’ second-grade classrooms. The books were distributed to 33 second-grade classrooms at 19 TPS schools.

The books were presented to a representative from each school Thursday morning at Old Orchard Elementary School.

Superintendent Romules Durant said he was “incredibly grateful” that both organizations chose to support TPS.

“Reading is indicative of a school’s success,” he said. “It’s the fundamental aspect of what they do in every course.”

The idea for the book donation originated with Emily Plummer Chicolini, a third-grade teacher at Martin Luther King, Jr., Elementary School. She said she was inspired when she created a small library in her own classroom, and saw how enthused her students were about having new books.

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Source: Toledo Blade / JAVONTE ANDERSON