James Dever revamps its Take10 program for book buffs

Valley Stream 13’s James A. Dever Elementary School welcomed back its Take10 program after pandemic-induced hiatus. This program started over 10 years ago as a James A. Dever exclusive program. Prekindergarten students and their families were able to come to school and check out a bag of 10 books. The goal was to check out 100 bags to read 1,000 books before the start of kindergarten.

“A huge thank you to our volunteers who dedicated their time in helping us sort out bags for the Take 10 program and also to our community members who sponsored a bag for our students,” said Thomas Mullen, James A. Dever Elementary School librarian. “Reading is a great opportunity to spark curiosity and stimulate our young learners’ minds. We are thrilled to welcome back our Take10 program and share this district-wide.”

Fifteen volunteers dedicated their time to help sort and fill the bags with books during the book-sorting party. The James A. Dever PTA and Mullen came up with the idea to restart the program. This year, they dedicated themselves to taking the Take10 program district-wide. Last winter all schools in the district held a book drive that netted 2,000 books. Mullen was awarded an Interschool PTA grant of $400 for the purchase of bags. The balance of money required to purchase the bags was raised through community member donations.