Zionsville Community Schools
WINTER 2025
Connected Through Reading Neighbors, grandparents, and volunteers join young learners to build connections, confidence, and a shared love of reading The Eagle Readers program is growing and connecting generations through reading. In elementary buildings across Zionsville Community Schools, a simple storybook is creating something bigger. Through the Senior VIP Eagle Readers program, community members, retirees, parents, grandparents, and neighbors are stepping into schools to read alongside our students. This is more than literacy support. It is connection. It is belonging. It is generations learning from one another. Eagle Readers began as a small effort to give students extra reading time with caring adults. It has grown into a signature district elementary program, one that reflects the heart of our community and the deep value we place on relationships. Each week, volunteers settle into library corners to read with students one-on-one or in small groups. For young readers, the extra practice builds reading confidence. For volunteers, the experience offers purpose, joy, and the chance to make a meaningful difference.
The program opens the door for children to meet people with different life experiences and perspectives. Students who may be shy at first often light up when they recognize their reader walking through the door. Those moments of pages turning, stories unfolding, and smiles shared create memories that go well beyond an assigned book. The Eagle Readers program has also become a bridge between schools and the broader community. Many volunteers each year form bonds inside our schools. Some are former educators who miss the energy of a classroom. Others are new to Zionsville and are looking for a way to give back. All find something special in the simple act of reading with a child. Eagle Readers reminds us that slowing down to share a story can strengthen relationships, build confidence, and bring generations together under one shared purpose: supporting students. When a community reads together, it grows together. Thank you, Senior VIPs!
To learn more or to join the Senior VIP program in Zionsville Community Schools, reach out to Lynn Kissel-Brown at lkissel@zcs.k12.in.us.
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