Discovery Community School Unveils Innovative Book Vending Machine

(KNSI) – The wonderful world of reading is being transformed into a reward at Discovery Community School in Waite Park.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Thursday with dozens of third graders for the new book vending machine. Students who demonstrate the school’s principles of being respectful, responsible, and safe can be nominated by a teacher to get a special golden coin and a free book to take home.

Principal Jenny Holm explained to KNSI News they’ll probably never run out of titles to explore. “We have a variety of reading levels and interests. We have some nonfiction, some fiction. We also try to choose books that are culturally relevant.”

The wheels started turning for Holm after seeing the machine in service at other District 742 buildings. “So, I started looking into how can I get one. Where can I get one? How much is it going to be? I got the how and where. The how much was the part where I was having some trouble. So that’s where we partnered with the mayor in the City of Waite Park.”

Jake Judd/KNSI School

If wasn’t for the city stepping up and gifting them $7,000 for the project, Holm said it may not have happened.

Both sides credit the team effort for making it a reality.

Waite Park Mayor Rick Miller was on hand for the ribbon cutting and explained the funding actually came from the community. “We used chairatable gambling money. So this is not tax dollar money. We collect it from bars and the restaurants in town itself that sell pull tabs.”

Supporting schools in the city is a priority, according to Miller. “This was part of our vision. We did our vision thing in Waite Park about two years ago, and education was one of them.

The mini-mechanical bookstore will include stories in English, Somali and Spanish. As the titles are bought, they’ll be replaced with different ones.

The other book vending machines in District 742 are at Talahi and Kennedy schools.

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