The Mesquite ISD is working on meeting students where they are when it comes to reading.
The Read Play Talk bus is now mobile and serving students throughout the district.
"It’s puzzles, books and games. A lot of these things families may have at home, but it’s just packaged in a unique way. It’s on a bus,” said community liaison Lindsay Paris.
Paris said it’s a project under their Read Play Talk initiative that started back in 2018. It was created to encourage parents and caregivers to read, play and talk with their kids every day. Paris said that concept is more important than ever before.
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It’s a project that started in 2018, but hit a few speed bumps along the way. Now, they are ready to roll it into the communities where kids really need the reading reinforcement.
“These past two summers I have heard the terms being through around called the super summer slide because of the pandemic. Some students haven’t stepped inside a school building since March. Even though online learning has been there for a lot of our families, there is going to be significant learning loss for our students, and we have to help with that,” Paris said.
The district is also utilizing digital platforms to provide free resources for families who may not be ready to venture out just yet.
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“The bus is funded by the community. There were about 20 local businesses, including Whataburger of Mesquite, Atmos Energy and Puzzle Piece Kids that all made big contributions to make this bus possible,” Elizabeth Hernandez with the district said.
SUMMER BUS SCHEDULE:
Saturday, July 10, from 9 a.m. to noon at KidsQuest Park at 1625 Gross Road in Mesquite.
Tuesday, July 20, from 10 a.m. to noon at City Lake Park at 200 Parkview Street in Mesquite.
