Texarkana Independent School District's Tiger Bookmobile is getting ready for its summer tour.
The primary focus of the bookmobile is to give students the opportunity to continue their education during the summer through reading.
"The mobile unit becomes a welcome change to a child's summer routine and allows for creativity and entertainment, thereby reducing the negative perception about summer learning," a press release from the district states.
Research estimates that 50-67 percent of the achievement gap for children living in poverty is the result of summer learning loss, according to TISD. Research has also shown that having elementary-aged children read just four to five books over summer can prevent such loss.
"According to the research, summer reading loss is cumulative. Children who are not encouraged to read during the summer don't catch up in the fall because those children that are reading during the summer are moving ahead with their skills. By the time the start of school begins, a child not encouraged to read has fallen behind," said Tina Veal-Gooch, TISD spokeswoman. Students who lose reading skills over the summer in first through sixth grades are up to two years behind their classmates.
The brightly colored, 48-foot Bookmobile has mobile satellite technology, thousands of books, iPads, Kindle e-readers, reading benches and seats, a flat-screen television, Wii gaming, bean bag chairs and colorful rugs. It also has an outside seating area covered by a canopy, with bean bag chairs and rugs.
The Tiger Bookmobile will be open 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, June 11 through Aug. 10, at various sites on the Texas side. Story hours will be held at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. daily.
Children 5 and younger must be accompanied by an adult. Older children can enter without an adult, but must live within walking distance of the Bookmobile site.
Checking out books is free. Books can be returned to the Bookmobile anytime during the summer or to any TISD school after Aug. 10.
Tour dates and places:
The Oaks at Rosehill, 2100 W. 12th St., open June 11-12 and 20-21; July 2-3, 12, 16 and 24-25; and Aug. 2 and 6
Rosehill Ridge, 1201 Stuckey St., open June 13-14 and 25-26; July 5, 9, 17-18, 26 and 30; and Aug. 7-8
Rotary Splash Pad, at Spring Lake Park, 4303 N. Park Road, open June 15, 22 and 29; July 6, 13, 20 and 27; and Aug. 3 and 10
Pecan Ridge, 2210 W. 15th St., open June 18-19 and 27-28; July 10-11, 19, 23 and 31; and Aug. 1 and 9
The Bookmobile is partly funded through the Texarkana Public Schools Foundation and the Tiger Family of TISD employee contributions. Additional donors and in-kind providers are: the Texas Pioneer Foundation; Jack Bruner; Capital One Bank; Altech Inc.; SHW Group; AEP-Southwestern Electric Power Co.; the Arkansas and Texarkana Area community foundations; Donna Chatman; the Bobbie A. Atkinson Foundation; FastSigns; Mayo Manufacturing Corp.; Kelly Tidwell and his wife; Washington Post Co.; Joe A. Norwood Jr. and his wife; and Texas High School Classes of 1949 and 1999.
For more information on the Tiger Bookmobile and their 2018 Summer Tour, contact: Tina Veal-Gooch at 903-794-3651, ext. 1013, or visit txkisd.net.