Students at Jennings High School are taking the initiative to promote literacy and cultivate healthy reading habits among local children and youth by increasing access to books.

The Jennings High School Key Club was recently awarded a $650 Youth Opportunities grant from Kiwanis International to support the goal.

The Key Club will use the grant to expand reading opportunities and increase access to books for students through Little Free Libraries. These small, wooden structures will be stocked with free books that anyone can borrow, keep or return.

“We’re trying to combat the fact that we’re all so glued to our phones these days and encourage reading,” Key Club President Ryleigh Crochet, a senior at JHS, said.” I’ve noticed that many of my classmates are starting to read more, so I’m hoping to keep the little library stocked with popular books that will inspire them.”

The libraries will be located at North Cutting Park, Marcus Cain Park, and Franklin Park.

“We chose these locations because they are frequently visited by families and are areas where the city is investing in improvements,” Key Club Treasurer Shaune Maynard, a tenth-grader, said.

“Many children may not have books at home or may not visit the public library,”  Crochet said. “By placing book libraries in parks, we can encourage reading in a place where children already spend time. The concept is simple: “grab a book, leave a book.” Children can keep the books they like and leave others for their peers.”

Crochet said she grew up reading and was encouraged to go to the library by her parents, but as a teenager she quit reading after becoming immersed in electronics.

“I was able to read at higher levels in my lower grade levels, but I stopped reading sometime during my junior high years, and I saw my ACT score decline,” she said. “When I started reading again, it helped me with the reading portion of the test. As I read more and more every day, my ACT scores went up. You see that correlation in your kids’ scores; their LEAP test results do help them on their ACT tests because the LEAP test is mostly literacy-based.”

Crochet said she quit reading because she got too tied to her phone.

“I never used to be on electronics all day,” she said. “I didn’t get a phone until I was in my late teens because my parents valued going outside and touching the grass. I read all the time as a kid, but when I got older, I got too tied into electronics, and it cut ties with being able to use my brains because everything was given to you in electronics.”

The overarching goal is to nurture a love of reading in children from pre-K to eighth grade, Maynard said.

He also hopes the books will contribute to improving district test scores, particularly in elementary schools, where a decline in reading scores has been noted since 2019.

“One contributing factor is likely the COVID-19 pandemic,” Maynard said. “In 2019, the district’s average reading score was 86.3. By 2021, it had fallen to 85.9, and in 2023, the district score dropped further to 83.6. Jennings Elementary was particularly affected, with a score of 69.8. These results are concerning.”

“We hope this initiative will improve reading habits in the community,” he continued “All of our exams are now based solely on reading and analyzing material, and that declining test scores have been a wake-up call. If you can’t read, you can’t graduate. We’re hoping our project will build healthy reading habits. I know one of my New Year’s resolutions was to read more. I don’t like to read, but it’s beneficial. We hope these libraries can help instill healthy reading habits in students throughout the city and parishes.”

The group aims to have the libraries installed by the summer and is exploring future opportunities to expand the project into other schools and communities.

Various designs for the wooden book boxes are being considered, including a Charlie Brown theme and a Roscoe dog house theme to align with the school’s mascot.

Additionally, the club plans to host a book drive later this year to collect book donations and refresh the community book houses. Jeff Davis Parish Library Director Michael Staton, who is the local Kiwanis Club president, has agreed to donate books from the parish library to support the drive.

To gather materials, Crochet said she will contact local organizations about potential wood and plywood donations to build the houses. Maynard, a member of the school’s FFA group, will organize a team building event where students can assist with building the houses. Students will help decorate them.