The San Antonio ISD has come up with a whole new way of getting kids interested in reading. News Radio 1200 WOAI reports the district is turning school buses into libraries.
SAISD Transportation Director Nathan Graf says, in cooperation with Bibliotech, the district will equip the buses with Wi-Fi routers, and will allow students to check out e-books and audio books while on the bus.
"The kids will have access to Wi-Fi on the way to school and on their way home as well," he said. "So they can download books and read them during that 20 to 30 minute bus ride."
He says a total of eight buses have been outfitted with the equipment, so different students can have the opportunity to get hooked on reading during the course of the school year.
Graf says this is also a benefit for a school district which has a large number of low income families who don't have Wi-Fi at home.
"If they don't have access to a smart device they can check them out through Bibliotech," he said. "And we may use these buses as Wi-Fi in neighborhoods."
Graf says making it possible for all children to check out books on school buses will also cut down on mischief on the bus, and make life a lot easier for the bus drivers.
In fact, the drivers of these new buses will even get a new title. They will be 'Reading Captains.'