The Denver Gazette highlighted Book Trust’s impact on literacy for Denver-area students. Reporter Lorelei Smillie spoke with Patience Peabody, Book Trust President and CEO, and Joey Denoncourt, the Principal at College View Elementary School.

“Our school was rated the lowest that a school could be rated coming out of the pandemic. Now we’re rated as a high-performing school,” Joey shared. “Book Trust is giving [the kids] some agency and is really helping to combat the learning loss that we experienced.”

According to the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), only 31% of fourth graders are reading proficiently, marking a decline compared to 2022 and extending a trend that began before the pandemic.

“This is a workforce development issue for me. We have to make sure that students can live thriving lives and knowing how to read is the Maslow’s of that in my book,” she said.

Last school year, Book Trust partnered with 15 schools in the Denver Public Schools system, supporting more than 5,000 students in choosing and owning 55,086 books.

Read the full article here.