Bill Giessing, Bonnie Whiting, Gary Whiting, and
Roger Edmonds gathered together to celebrate 22 years of gifting dictionaries to Valley 3rd grade students.
Dr. Honora Norton, RCSL Public Image Director
In the Summer of 2002, Rotary Club of Sun Lakes (RCSL) member Dwight Grotewold visited the Rotary Club of Logan, Utah, where he learned about their innovative elementary school initiative known as “A Dictionary for 3rd Graders.” Drawing on his experience as a former K-12 teacher and his recent retirement as Vice President of Admissions for the University of Colorado, Dwight championed the idea and presented it to RCSL board and its members. The proposal was approved for implementation during the Rotary year 2003-04.
Following RCSL’s board’s approval, fundraising efforts began immediately. In its inaugural year, RCSL successfully distributed more than 5,000 dictionaries to 3rd grade students across the Chandler Unified School District, private schools, the Gilbert Unified School District, area Indian community schools, and Title 9 programs. This significant accomplishment was made possible through the dedicated efforts of four RCSL members, Bill Giessing, Bonnie Whiting, Gary Whiting, and Roger Edmonds, who have participated in the project every school year for 22 consecutive years.
RCSL members and other supporters believed that the dictionary project would empower students to become better spellers, readers, thinkers, and speakers. Teachers have consistently been the primary champions of this initiative, using the dictionaries for classroom projects as well as take-home assignments, further enhancing students’ educational experiences.
For more info about RCSL, see www.sunlakesrotary.com.