By By JESSICA SIEFF / Niles Daily Star
CASSOPOLIS – The sun was shining outside Sam Adams Elementary School in Cassopolis. But it could not touch the bright and shining smiles of Mrs. Heather Burns third grade class at precisely one o'clock Tuesday.
That's when the class was taken outside to greet a Wal-Mart truck with a very special gift.
The truck was on hand as part of a reading contest that was developed between Burns and Deb Bosworth – a Wal-Mart truck driver who happens to be part of the Trucker Buddy program in which Burns' class participates.
Trucker Buddy International – a non-profit organization – matches up teachers and drivers as pen pals. Drivers write the students each week, sending post cards and pictures of where they're going and where they've been. Through the letters – to which they respond – students gain more than just reading and writing skills. Bosworth said students gain skills in geography, math, history and even social studies.
Bosworth has been the 'trucker buddy' to Burns' class for the past eight years. "It just so happens that we are friends and family," said Burns. This year – they did something a little different.
Burns said her class was showing rather low reading scores back in September. Burns said that Bosworth wanted to know what she could do to help. She suggested a reading contest, said Burns, "and she said, what if I get a bicycle for the most improved (student)?" The contest was on.
But while the children were reading hundreds – and hundreds of books – 915 books in all, 1,901,677 total words, an average of 35 books and 73,000 words per child – according to Burns, Bosworth was spearheading a mission of her own.
She went to Wal-Mart stores throughout the area – including Wal-Mart in Niles, Elkhart, Portage and Kalamazoo and asked them to donate bicycles. For every student in Mrs. Burns' class.
The mission ended with a Wal-Mart tractor-trailer parked behind Sam Adams Elementary School, Tuesday afternoon.
Participating Wal-Mart stores donated brand new bicycles and helmets for each of Burns' 26 students – and assembled them in store. When the back door of the truck opened – there was a thunderous cheer. One by one they were unloaded and presented by Wal-Mart employees like Amy Foresman, Assistant Manager of hard lines at the Niles Wal-Mart store, Ed Rodgers, Manager of General Transportation at Wal-Mart distribution in Coldwater and Brett Timblin also of transportation in Coldwater.
"This is awesome," Timblin said as the kids lined up for photos in front of the truck. "Just to hear the kids when we opened up the back…. It was like Christmas in May."
"I just think it's wonderful, what she did," said Foresman, who added this was her first time being involved in such an event.
Rodgers also said this was the first time that they've done something quite so elaborate as part of the Trucker Buddy program. "To this magnitude, absolutely," he said. "And we were happy to support it."
Burns was able to monitor the students' progress. "Periodically we retest the reading level," she said. Students read at their own reading level and were retested later. The tests operate on a points system. Burns said that nationally, students typically improve by ten points. Mrs. Burns' class saw "an average of 16 points" improvement. All in all scores "ranged in improvement from 10 points to 30 points."
Burns said following a celebration at the school, the bikes of those students who ride the bus to school would be loaded into a trailer by Superintendent Gregory Weatherspoon and delivered to each student's home. "I hope to go with," Burns said.
For their part, the kids did well staying still for photographs before being set free to take their new bikes for a spin – but not before offering a big, united 'thank you' to Wal-Mart, Bosworth and Mrs. Burns.
"It was worth all the work," Bosworth said. By the look on the faces of Mrs. Burns' class – it seems it was worth all that – and more.