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St. Ann police officer creates reading program for elementary students

"That's something that I look for in my old age, to be able to look back and say 'Hey, I helped that kid along the way,'" Officer Chris Scanga said.

ST. ANN, Mo. – A St. Ann police officer is encouraging kids to expand their imagination through reading, and he used his own money to create a new school program to help implement it.

The new program is also a way for kids to establish a relationship with police and it all starts with reading one book.

Officer Chris Scanga is a DARE and resource officer for Drummond elementary school in St. Ann.

In addition to teaching kids to DARE to resist drugs, he’s encouraging them to think, read and learn through his new program called Scanga’s Reading Patrol.

“Not only can the kids work on their reading, but it gets their imagination going and it also will help them later on in life,” Scanga said.

It’s something Scanga said he once found challenging.

“I struggled when I was younger reading and I actually started reading more and more and I got better at it,” Scanga said.

The eight-week program allows more than 70 kids to read and keep one book per week. It promotes reading and encourages a mentorship between the officer and the students. It’s an outcome Scanga said he was aiming for all along.

“That’s something that I look for in my old age, to be able to look back and say 'Hey, I helped that kid along the way,'” Scanga said.

The reading program was funded by officer Scanga and donations from the community.

If you would like to donate you can log in to the Schholastic website and sign in as a parent using the class code T3FFX. Book donations will be sent directly to Drummond Elementary School.

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