The “Cool Iskool” Mobile Library, an innovative literacy initiative led by Congressman-elect Atty. Antonino “Tony” Roman III, has produced remarkable improvements in the reading levels of Grade 3 students in the First District of Bataan.

Recent results from the Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment showed that the number of learners classified as “Grade-Level Ready” jumped from 36.94% to 81.92%, while those in the “Emergent Reader” category dropped drastically from 12% to just 0.22%.

The mobile library program, launched in 2023, was developed in partnership with the Department of Education Bataan Schools Division and The Asia Foundation to address the lack of reading materials and libraries in underserved communities. With 42 schools in the district having no dedicated libraries, and a large percentage of students showing early-stage reading skills, the initiative aimed to deliver access to quality books and digital learning tools directly to schools.

The Cool Iskool van is a fully equipped learning hub on wheels, stocked with storybooks in English and Filipino, more than 100 tablets donated by private sector partners such as ACEN Corp. and the Aboitiz Foundation, and an e-library system provided by The Asia Foundation. It is designed to provide a safe, engaging, and tech-enabled reading environment for young learners who otherwise have limited access to such resources.

Central to the program are structured literacy activities including weekly Read-Aloud Sessions led by guest readers, Reading Clubs aligned with the National Reading Program, and take-home activity sheets coordinated by teachers and completed with the help of parents. This school-to-home reading strategy ensured that learning continued beyond the classroom, and parents became active partners in their child’s education.

The project’s impact was validated through a pre- and post-assessment conducted in four schools. The number of transitional readers, who are developing but not yet proficient, decreased from 43.97% to 15.74%, while high developing readers also saw a drop from 8.04% to 2.12%. These results underscore the effectiveness of the mobile library in not just encouraging reading, but in equipping students with the skills needed to read at their grade level.

The Cool Iskool Mobile Library is part of Roman’s broader education advocacy, which includes computer and book donations to municipal libraries, the promotion of barangay reading centers, and literacy-focused collaborations with both government and non-government stakeholders. Roman, known for his community-centered legal advice content on social media, has made inclusive education one of his top legislative and development priorities.

The post “Cool Iskool” Mobile library transforms reading skills of Bataan learners appeared first on 1Bataan.