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Summit County coalition seeks books, volunteers to help students read this summer

Alli Langley
alangley@summitdaily.com
Summit Loves Reading bins have been set up around the county for people to drop off new and gently used book donations to help students read during the summer.
File photo | Sky-Hi News

The Summit School District, the Education Foundation of the Summit, Family Intercultural & Resource Center (FIRC) and the Summit County libraries have come together to create the Summit Loves Reading program and are seeking book donations for Summit County students.

Summit Loves Reading bins have been put up throughout the county in grocery stores, public libraries and public schools to collect new or gently used books for children ages 4 to 10 in English or Spanish.

Fiction, nonfiction, picture books, chapter books, read aloud and workless books are welcome. The book donations will help children access books at home over the summer and will help prevent the “summer slide” of reading skills.



Children entering kindergarten through grade 5 in the fall will be provided with a bag of several books and other literacy materials with directions for parents in English and Spanish.

Volunteers are needed to help with the project. For more information, visit http://www.educationfoundationsummit.org or contact Bonnie Ward at director@educationfoundationsummit.org.



State board of education postpones vote on youth health survey

Last month, the State Board of Education debated making a significant change to the way the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey is administered to students across the state.

A change in how parents opt their children in or out of participating in the anonymous survey — which questions students drug use, sexual activity, eating and other habits — could affect the reliability of the survey’s data.

Currently, schools that administer the survey are required to notify parents of the school’s participation and provide a copy of the survey questions to parents upon request.

Because participation is entirely voluntary, parents who do not want their middle or high school student to participate may opt out by returning a signed form to the school. This “passive consent” is used by the vast majority of states.

State Board members considered shifting to an “active consent” model. Under this model, schools would be required to obtain a parent signature before a child can participate in the survey, which could create significant logistical challenges.

More than a dozen people, including students, parents, nonprofits, health care providers and school officials, testified in favor of maintaining the current passive consent process, citing the value of the survey data to understanding some of the most critical issues affecting Colorado youth.

School officials say the survey is critical for targeting services to students, such as social and emotional supports.

There was no public testimony in support of shifting to active consent.

Because of legal ambiguity surrounding the method of obtaining parental consent, the state board members voted unanimously to table the discussion until their next regularly scheduled meeting April 8.


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