Copperas Cove ISD creates evening story time series
Special to Leader-Press
Berenstain Bears the Messy Room, The Day the Crayons Quit and The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes are three of the favorite books that students and families have enjoyed during Copperas Cove ISD’s Bulldawg Bedtime.
CCISD Digital Media Coordinator Matthew Thompson said Bulldawg Bedtime which airs through Bulldawg Radio, the school district’s local radio station, began as a way to maintain a personal connection with the district’s students.
“One of the things (CCISD Superintendent) Dr. (Joe) Burns has said on multiple occasions is that ‘Students won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.’ That philosophy has really been the driving force behind this project,” Thompson said. “Each day, the news bombards us with negative warnings and statistics and it’s so easy for children to become overwhelmed and frightened. CCISD wanted to have something that our students can listen to that is positive and calming and that will bring a sense of normalcy to their daily routines.”
While Thompson debuted the storybook reading with the plans of doing it as time allowed, that quickly changed based on the strong listenership of CCISD families that is calculated through the radio station.
“All of the feedback we have received has been positive and we plan to continue providing stories every weeknight until this pandemic is over,” Thompson said.
Parent Vanessa Delgado and her children tuned in to the reading of The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room.
“I thought this was a cool idea,” Delgado said. “No screens, just imagination.”
Thompson began by reading aloud the books himself and recording them for families. But due to the program’s popularity, school librarians, school board members and other have been encouraged to come in and read a book on Bulldawg Radio.
School Board member Dr. Karen Harrison read the book, Henry and Mudge and the Funny Lunch.
“I had a great time reading. It was a lot of fun,” Harrison said upon completing the recording.
Families can tune in nightly to Bulldawg Radio at https://www.ccisd.com/radio. The link is available directly from the district home webpage.
Amanda Przechowski and her family listened intently to Thompson’s reading of The Day the Crayons Quit.
“My daughter enjoyed this greatly. She followed along with her copy of the book, Przechowski said.
Thompson said Bulldawg Bedtime is far more than a simple public relations campaign.
“This is our way of reminding children that they are loved, that there is still hope in the world and that their school families loves them and haven’t forgotten about them,” Thompson said. “It’s also to help our parents know that they are not alone and that together, we will get through this.”