Saratoga Elementary School students have discovered literary treasures this school year by making golden choices in their classrooms each week.
 
Students in kindergarten through fifth grade are enjoying the fruits of being responsible, respectful and kind at school with a new book vending machine. It contains multiple rows of book titles suitable for elementary ages. Students who earn tickets for good behavior are included in weekly drawings to choose their own free books out of the machine.

Saratoga fifth graders Zain and Jonathan joined a group of students who heard their names called over the school intercom one recent Friday afternoon. They walked down to the main office and waited patiently in line for their turn at the machine.
 
Zain said he was excited to pick a paperback that talked about animals. He received his first book earlier this fall and was pleased to be chosen a second time.
 
“If your name is on the ticket that gets drawn, you get a book,” Zain said.

Jill Hughes said the book vending machine has been a “huge incentive” for students throughout the year. Hughes is Saratoga’s school counselor and helps students learn about lifelong skills such as kindness, responsibility and making positive decisions.
 
“At first, we thought, ‘Well, it’s a book. You know, we don’t know if they’ll be excited or not,’” Hughes said. “This is 1,000 times better than the toys. They are so excited.”

LPS Director of Library Services Chris Haeffner said she has been encouraged by the positive stories that have emerged at Saratoga.
 
“What I love most about the addition of the vending machine is the excitement it has spurred about books and reading,” Haeffner said.

TeamMates Mentoring purchased 51 book vending machines for Nebraska school districts after receiving a READ Nebraska grant from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.

Saratoga teachers hand out Shining Star tickets throughout the week to students in their classrooms. They can earn tickets for behavior-based reasons such as turning in homework on time, showing kindness to classmates or playing well together at recess. Each classroom teacher saves the tickets and brings them to the main office each Friday afternoon.
 
Saratoga staff then randomly draw one ticket out of each classroom’s pile. After their names are announced to the whole school, each student receives a golden coin to put in the vending machine.

“The kids are beyond excited to get their golden token and to get to pick the book that they want,” Hughes said. “They come charging down here every Friday when their name is called.”
 
Sydney Bockman coordinates the READ Nebraska grant program for TeamMates.
 
“We have gotten only positive feedback, from student excitement to gratitude for the opportunity in schools that they would never be able to afford without the grant,” Bockman said.
 
“The two principles we are working from on the literacy aspect are book choice and book ownership,” Bockman said. “The vending machines provide both book choice and book ownership for students in a fun and innovative way.”

Hughes said the TeamMates machine has been a source of many treasure-filled tales at Saratoga.
 
“We’ll see kids just even when they’re in the hallway, they’ll stop to check out what’s in there,” Hughes said. “It’s a big deal.”
 
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