By Gabriella Dragone
WOODLAND PARK, NJ – On Thursday, John P. Holland Charter School (JPHCS), a high performing PreK through eighth Grade school serving students in Paterson, officially unveiled its “Bookworm” vending machine that stocks more than 500 books for students to take home and build their own libraries. Instead of using money, the vending machine employs tokens that students receive for excellent behavior or academic performance in the classroom.
“This is a fun way to encourage the love of reading,” Christina Scano, Founder/Lead Person of JPHCS said. “We love how the token system encourages literacy and good citizenship. It is a perfect combination.”
The machine was made possible through a donation from Garo Kurkjian of Electronics Unlimited, Inc.
“We are very grateful to our small business partners, who not only ensure that we had a wonderful facility to teach in, but who support and enrich our students’ education with special initiatives like this,” Michelle Petriello, Principal of John P. Holland said.
“This is new to our school and I think it’s good for our education because rather than a vending machine with food, it has books, so they [the school] are really trying to improve our education,” Nicholas Jeronimo, a seventh grader said. “I think it’s a great idea, and it just works for everyone, there are books in there for all grade levels.”
“This will be a fun experience for the kids [to earn coins],” Jacob Escobar, an eighth grader told TAPinto Paterson. “It will help the kids learn, and it will also help them to raise their grades if they are falling behind.”