By Kendra Messing, BOM, CPO, HRS, MSBO Board Member, Business Manager, Huron ISD
With the news of Dolly Parton’s passing, I thought about her music – who hasn’t jammed out ‘9 to 5’ or belted out ‘Jolene!’? – her well-known kindness and the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.
No complex application (in NexSys or otherwise). No need to prove financial need. Just a simple sign-up and a child receives a monthly book with their name on it from age 0-5 years old. Today, the Imagination Library puts more than 3.5 million books into the hands of children every month. My kids were part of the Imagination Library, and at 13, 9 and 6 – they still are eager to give me their Scholastic book order or request money for the book fair. Their excitement about a new book is a reminder to me that something as simple as putting a book into a child’s hands can have a lasting impact.
As we all know, something that seems simple to the people being served often requires a lot of work behind the scenes. This is true of the Imagination Library- and of our positions. We pay staff, purchase curriculum, get buses on the road, prepare Chromebooks and buildings, feed students and perhaps most looming right now – complete the audit and submit the FID. Students, staff and community members may never see everything happening in our offices (unless something goes wrong of course 😉) – but that work makes the education of students possible.
Across Michigan this month, thousands of children will receive a book in the mail. Most of them probably won’t know who Dolly Parton was or the work required to place that book in their hands. They will simply know that they have a new book to read. Perhaps years from now, one of those children will become a parent signing up their own child for the Imagination Library, a teacher building a love of literacy, an author writing the books —or even a school business official doing the quiet, behind-the-scenes work.
Dolly left behind an incredible legacy through her music, films, kindness and commitment to putting books into the hands of children – it makes me think about what we leave behind. Our names will never appear on a diploma or be directly attached to a student’s accomplishments, but what we do helps make those accomplishments possible. We create the foundation that allows our schools to do what they are here to do — educate students and give them the opportunity to create a legacy of their own.
Other Articles in this Newsletter
- Get More from Your MSBO Membership: The MSBO Exchange
- Introductory ORS Processors Workshop
- MSBO Facilities/Operations Conference & Exhibit Show
- MSBO School Finance Services Committee – Up North
- MSBO Update – Robert Dwan
- Welcome New Members
- You Know More Than You Think—and Less Than You Know – Sharon Raschke