CALEDONIA, Mich. (WOOD) — A $1,000 grant is a great start to the story at Explorer Elementary School in Caledonia. The school has been raising money to purchase a book vending machine for students to enjoy.
“We could just give away books — or we could make giving away books really exciting,” said Jason Bannister, principal at Explorer Elementary School.
Bannister said students at the school earn coins through the Positive Behavior System for exhibiting good behavior.
“When students are doing what they are supposed to do, we like to reward them for meeting those expectations,” he said. “They get a ticket, we call them Power tickets, they put their name on them, they put them in a box and we draw tickets every week, and once a month we have an assembly and we draw tickets at the assembly too.”
Thanks to the One School at a Time grant from Spartan Nash and Family Fare, the school will add another element to the reward system — the book vending machine.
“It gives the students that feeling of drive, of working towards something and getting that reward in the end,” said Blake Jacobs, store director at D&W Caledonia.
The goal is to have the book vending machine in place by March 2025 — just in time for Reading Month.
