Effingham County Middle School has “beefed up the biographies” in its media center thanks to a recent Kroger/Colgate grant for $2,500. According to media specialist Kacy Tedder who wrote the grant application, only one school per state receives the grant each year, so it is quite an honor for ECMS to be chosen. To qualify for the grant, schools must be recognized as a “school in need.”

After completing the grant application, Tedder gave it to Ken Lee, the manager of the Rincon Kroger, who then sent it on to the state level.

“I am thrilled that ECMS was selected to receive the grant,” said Lee, who was recently invited to the school to view the new books and read to some students.

In addition to the $2,500, which the school used to purchase approximately 100 hard cover biographies, Kroger/Colgate donated a K-5 fiction library. Although most ECMS students read above this level, Tedder said the books will be used by special needs students and lower-level readers as well as teachers.

“Teachers also like to use the fiction picture books to introduce new topics,” explained Tedder.

As part of Georgia’s middle school curriculum, sixth and seventh grade students are required to read a biography and create a “bust” of the book’s main character. Tedder said prior to receiving the grant and purchasing the new books, the ECMS media center did not have enough biographies to accommodate all the students.

“Hard cover, first edition biographies can cost anywhere from $20 to $30,” said Tedder. “People don’t realize how expensive these books are and that they have a shelf life of only two to three years before they must be replaced.”