SPRING HILL — Everett Marcado couldn’t wait. As soon as he picked out a book in Deltona Elementary School’s newly upgraded media center, the 9-year-old sat down on the floor and started reading.
He loves books, said his mother, Yasmin Garcia.
Everett and his sister, Valentina, 7, were among the students who got the first look at the redesigned library Sept. 16. The Hernando County Education Foundation funded the makeover, which added reading tents, beanbag chairs, new furniture, a mural, a large American flag and a reading station built around an exercise bike.
“It’s good. It’s really interesting,” Garcia said.
Valentina picked out books about Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky, Barbie and Winnie-the-Pooh.
“Little classics,” her mother said.
Garcia said she has the children read before bed. “They get in the habit before school starts,” she said.
Built for kids
Before the students arrived, Principal Sandra Giraldo, Assistant Principal Trina Crawford and Superintendent Ray Pinder tried out the reading tents. When the children came in, they dove onto the beanbag chairs.
Tables held free books on a variety of topics, along with cupcakes and cookies to celebrate the new look.
“There’s going to be a lot of students interested in just the atmosphere of it, how it’s laid out and spaces for different groups,” Pinder said.
One area is set up like a small classroom, he said. “And of course you saw how we loved the tents in that area, so you can imagine we turned into kids when we saw it.”
The layout also gives staff clear sightlines to supervise students, Pinder said. Years ago, he said, library shelves stood in rows that made it hard to see.
‘Ride and Read’
Media specialist Jessica Price, who has taught in Hernando County for 22 years, showed off the “Ride and Read Bicycle,” an exercise bike that lets children read while burning off extra energy.
“I’ve always loved reading,” she said. “It’s a passion of mine.”
When she took over the media center, Price said, the room needed to feel more welcoming. The foundation grant paid for the new furniture, the mural, the flag and other items, she said.
When a group of children came by, Price greeted them. “Welcome, guys. Are you guys staying?”
“Yes,” one replied.
They ran around the room, picked out free books and leaped onto the beanbag chairs.
After staff and School Board members were introduced, Price said it’s important to give children the gift of reading. Supporters were “all in” on giving to the foundation, she said, especially for “the most gorgeous rug I’ve ever seen.”
More to come
Price said the foundation will recognize students for reading through challenges and an art competition to design a T-shirt. Eventually, she said, the library will get a book vending machine.
Giraldo, in her first year as Deltona’s principal, said the school is looking forward to those programs, including the Battle of the Books competition, which just started. The upgraded media center is a more inviting place than a typical library, she said.
Giraldo previously was an assistant principal at Hernando High School. Before that, she taught in Palm Beach County.
Thanks to the foundation
Price credited Debbie Worrell, a 45-year educator, with helping transform the library with her ideas. She also presented a plaque to Tammy Brinker, who leads the Hernando County Education Foundation.
“On behalf of all the students, faculty and parents of Deltona, thank you so much Mrs. Brinker for all that you do,” Price said. “They do so much for this community.”
Pinder called the students, faculty, parents and foundation members the most important people in the room because of what they do every day.
“Their passion is fed when they come out and they see this happening,” Pinder said of the foundation’s supporters. “They do a lot of work behind the scenes. They have a lot of meetings; I know because I go to a lot of them, and it’s good to see the outcome of that.”
The foundation’s reach extends well beyond Deltona, Brinker said.
“We impact probably close to 22,000 students every year,” she said.
Kelly Labonte of Spring Hill gathered her children, Camilla, 9, and Evan, 7, and their new books.
Camilla held up her picks. “I like comic and chapter books,” she said.
Evan showed off his, too. “I like space books and dinosaurs,” he said.
Across the room, Everett Marcado was still reading. His book: “Wild Survival.”