Mail Call for Kids

Big books might not be the first thing that pops into mind when you think about Dolly Parton. But more than 500 children in Santa Fe County could start getting them in the mail each month in 2015 as part of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program administered by the local chapter of United Way.

The country singer set up the books-by-mail program in 1995, says a Santa Fe County news release, but she doesn't select the reading list from her Smoky Mountain hideout. A panel of national experts does the choosing.

Rachel O'Conner, county Community Services Department director, says officials are behind the plan—and have allocated $50,000 for it—because of the need to bolster student achievement in literacy.

Less than half of the 13,000 students in Santa Fe schools read at grade level, with a recent report identifying only 46 percent of fourth graders here are proficient in reading, she says in the release. The new partnership's goal is to "see if we can help increase reading scores amongst our young children," she says.

Children who are enrolled in the program get one book each month from birth to age 5. The county says research shows that "when families have more books at home, kindergartners arrive at school with higher early language scores."

County spokeswoman Kristine Mihelcic says the program is open on a first-come, first-serve basis for all young children. For details about enrollment, call United Way at 216-2984.

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