Penn Hills Elementary librarian awarded grant for new books

Rodlyn Checcio knows the importance of getting young learners engaged in reading.

The Pleasant Hills resident has done her part to help children gain knowledge at the Penn Hills School District for nearly 30 years, including the past 16 as its elementary librarian.

“I love the families, the kids,” Checcio said. “You get to know the families when you’ve been there for so long. It’s just part of who I am. I come from a long line of teachers. My mother (Claire Kunsa) was a teacher. Cousins, aunts, uncles (were all teachers).

“When you’re a librarian, you see a lot more kids throughout the day and school year than you do when you have your own class of kids. It’s nice to be able to work with so many different students on different grade levels.”

The longtime educator worked in the district as a third grade teacher from 1992-2004 before making the switch to librarian.

She recently was awarded $5,000 from the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries to add books to the school’s collection.

The funding is expected to be in later this month, just in time to place an order to have the reading materials available near the start of the next school year.

Checcio said she worked with grade-level leaders to see what topics they covered, such as science and social studies, to get books to help back up their teaching, as well as other high-interest nonfiction books.

“Our students love to read about different kinds of animals and space, dinosaurs, things like that,” Checcio said. “There are some fiction books that they always gravitate toward. We’re going to get some more copies of those. It’s a wonderful thing to have this grant to be able to do that.

“Students love coming to the library at the elementary and borrowing books. I think this will create more excitement. It just helps reinforce what they are being taught. When they see there are connections outside of the classroom, it actually helps them retain information better and make those connections. That’s why I wanted to make sure what we ordered went along with what they were learning.”

Principal Kristen Brown said she fully supports Checcio’s efforts and was thrilled about the library’s upcoming additions.

“Rodlyn is a creative, innovative librarian,” Brown said. “She collaborates with colleagues to align her library instruction with grade-level standards to enhance and support what the students are learning in their core classes. Her lessons are interactive, engaging and fun. The students love visiting the library.

“She has created a warm and welcoming environment within the library space. She takes the time to get to know her students and can often tell you what type of books students like to read. Her goal is to have developed her students into lifelong readers.”

Bush recently joined former American Idol-turned-talk-show-host Kelly Clarkson on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” to announce that the foundation awarded more than $1 million in grants this year.

“There are many students who don’t have books at home, so having access to a library at school is essential,” Bush said about the foundation’s efforts. “With the grants, school libraries across the nation can restock and update their collections, providing opportunities for students for years to come.”

More information about the foundation is available at bushcenter.org.

Checcio is in the process of obtaining her master’s degree in library science from the University of Pittsburgh.

She also received a grant about 10 years ago to help support what was Penn Hills’ Forbes Elementary library.

The district has since consolidated schools and built a new elementary school.