WRES Starts New Chapter with Library Ribbon Cutting
WRES Starts New Chapter with Library Ribbon Cutting
The entire student body of Waggoner Road Elementary School gathered in the gym this morning to start a new chapter in their educational journey. Earlier this year, through donations of books and time from KPMG, the United Way of Central Ohio, 2nd & 7 Foundation, Scholastic and WRES staff and volunteers turned a classroom into the school’s first library.
Prior to today, WRES students would check out books from a cart from the Columbus Metropolitan Library. After a significant book donation from KPMG, the space grew into a dedicated library.
The vision for the WRES Library started as simply an idea—something the WRES Admin Team knew we wanted to create for our students. Through an initial partnership with United Way’s Success by Third Grade initiative and KPMG, that idea quickly took shape, starting with a generous donation of 1,500 books. Since then, KPMG has continued to donate décor, materials, resources, and countless volunteer hours to help transform the space, even working alongside United Way through a power outage to assemble our new library shelving.
Click here to see a
short before video of the new library
Today, what began as an idea has grown into a vibrant, welcoming learning space featuring more than 6,000 books, 28 desktop computers, flexible seating and reading areas, LEGO and puzzle tables, magnetic tiles and wall panels for hands-on STEM experiences, and much more.
"Watching this library go from an idea to a space our students can walk into and call their own has been incredibly meaningful," said Kayleigh Fowler, principal of Waggoner Road Elementary. "This is a place where our kids can explore, imagine, and fall in love with reading, and we are deeply grateful to everyone who helped make it happen."
No one is more excited about exploring the library than the students. “I’m excited that there’s a computer lab attached to the library, so I can learn to code,” said Henrik, a fourth grade student at WRES.
After the ribbon cutting ceremony which included a book reading and appearances from Rocky Raider and Clifford The Big Red Dog, students toured the library with their teachers.