Rebel Reading Room

UNLV's chapter of Phi Kappa Phi landed a $2,500 literacy grant from the national honor society to create the Rebel Reading Room at Dean Petersen Professional Development School. The vision of school librarian James Bowen, the Rebel Reading Room rewards for hard-working students who exhibit the school’s “Pillar of Character” traits: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, citizenship, fairness, and caring. Members of the Rebel Reading Room receive their own book, enjoy stories read aloud by Phi Kappa Phi student volunteers, and have an “environmentally ‘poppin’ space they can explore, read, dream, wonder, and fall in love with learning and literature,” says Bowen. The UNLV Phi Kappa Phi members wrote the grant and helped paint, decorate, and supply the room.
 

UNLV student Kristen Tardio reads with a student inside the Rebel Reading Room at Dean Petersen Elementary. (R. Marsh Starks/UNLV Photo Services)

UNLV chairs and plenty of scarlet and gray decorate the Rebel Reading Room. (R. Marsh Starks/UNLV Photo Services)

A bean bag makes a comfortable spot to read a book. (R. Marsh Starks/UNLV Photo Services)

UNLV soccer player Ricky Acero reads with students at Petersen Elementary. (R. Marsh Starks/UNLV Photo Services)

James Bowen, librarian at Dean Petersen Elementary School, talks about the Rebel Reading Room during a dedication ceremony. (R. Marsh Starks/UNLV Photo Services)

UNLV student Kristen Tardio reads with a student inside the Rebel Reading Room at Dean Petersen Elementary. (R. Marsh Starks/UNLV Photo Services)

UNLV soccer player Ricky Acero reads with students at Petersen Elementary. (R. Marsh Starks/UNLV Photo Services)

The Rebel Reading Room inside the school library at Dean Petersen Elementary is a quiet place to curl up with a book. (R. Marsh Starks/UNLV Photo Services)