National literacy program launched at Riverside elementary school
MOOSIC — A national program providing free books to students was launched at Riverside Elementary East.
Officials from publishing company Scholastic joined area legislators Thursday afternoon to kick off United States of Readers, a national literacy program run by Scholastic giving students in grades pre-K to eight in underresourced schools access to books of their choosing.
Students get to select 10 books a year, with teachers receiving 25 books for their classroom. The books are free to all students.
Judy Newman, Scholastic's chief impact officer, congratulated the assembled crowd of students in grades three to six and their teachers on being the first school district in the state to have the program and thanked state Rep. Jim Haddock, D-118, Pittston Twp., and state Sen. Marty Flynn, D-22, Dunmore, for their support.
Both lawmakers stressed the importance of reading and shared their excitement about the program with the students. Haddock said reading and access to books are crucial for students to read at their grade level. The program will also encourage students to read for fun.
'You get to pick what you're going to read,' Flynn said.
Children's book author Jerry Pallotta offered a presentation detailing his career, which began with reading to his four children. He also described how the ocean, fishing and boating trips in his native Massachusetts, as well as travels around the world, inspired his books — including his 'Who Would Win' book series, which compares the abilities of different animals. Pallotta told the students they can learn lots of information from books.
The presentation concluded with teachers passing out copies of his book 'Who Would Win: Lobster vs. Crab' after the presentation, and Haddock, joined by students, unveiling boxes of books.
Sixth graders Isabella Castro and London Ephraim are excited to have free books in their school.
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State Sen. Marty Flynn speaks to students at Riverside Elementary School in Moosic Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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State Sen. Marty Flynn speaks to students during the program at Riverside Elementary School in Moosic Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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State Sen. Marty Flynn and state Rep. Jim Haddock listen to the program at Riverside Elementary School in Moosic Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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State Rep. Jim Haddock greets third-grade student Michael Thorne before the program at Riverside Elementary School in Moosic Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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State Rep. Jim Haddock speaks to students at Riverside Elementary School in Moosic Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Childrens author Jerry Pallotta speaks to students at Riverside Elementary School in Moosic Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Childrens author Jerry Pallotta speaks to students at Riverside Elementary School in Moosic Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Students cheer during the program at Riverside Elementary School in Moosic Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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State Sen. Marty Flynn speaks to students at Riverside Elementary School in Moosic Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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'It's giving a lot of kids who don't have the money to buy books an opportunity to read what they want,' Castro said.
They also like that it exposes them to different kinds of books.
Officials at Scholastic launched the program in the fall, initially starting in Massachusetts, and plan to expand it to other districts in the state that receive federal Title I funds. Haddock said after the presentation he set aside $200,000 from the state Department of Community and Economic Development for the program.
Riverside Superintendent Paul Brennan said the program, which started at Riverside Elementary East and West last month, has been good for the district.
'This is a really important literacy program. Senator Flynn and Representative Haddock really went out and found some funding for us to kick-start some of the literacy initiatives that the school board and myself and the principals have had,' he said. 'It's all high-quality books, and there's no price tag, which is the best.'
Lawmakers have taken steps to help school districts provide better reading instruction, approving a bill last fall providing reading curriculums, screenings and teacher trainings in the science of reading.
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Election analysis: A look at primary outcomes, implications
Two women will battle for Scranton mayor just six years after city voters swept incumbent Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti into office as a Democrat-turned-independent running as an alternative to the city's entrenched Democratic political establishment. Cognetti's historic 2019 special election victory to fill the unexpired term of corrupt former Mayor Bill Courtright was in the minds of many a rejection of Scranton's old-guard Democratic politics — a symbolic turning of the page that opened the door for Cognetti to become the city's first female mayor and shatter a longstanding glass ceiling without the support of traditional city Democratic power brokers. * Patricia 'Trish' Beynon, Republican candidate for Scranton mayor in 2025 primary and general elections. (PHOTO PROVIDED / COURTESY OF PATRICIA BEYNON) * Scranton Mayor-Elect Paige Gebhardt Cognetti at Scranton City Hall in Scranton on Nov. 7, 2019. * A voter walks into the polls in John G. Whittier Elementary School in Scranton Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) * Voters walk into Charles Sumner Elementary School in Scranton Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) * Voters walk into the polls as they take literature from candidates and volunteers at John G. Whittier Elementary School in Scranton Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) * Voters gather outside of Green Ridge Assembly of God Church in Scranton Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) * Voters walk into Scranton High School in Scranton Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) * A voter walks into Scranton High School in Scranton Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) * A volunteer waits for voters to enter the polls in Jackson Heights Apartments in Scranton Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) Show Caption 1 of 9 Patricia 'Trish' Beynon, Republican candidate for Scranton mayor in 2025 primary and general elections. (PHOTO PROVIDED / COURTESY OF PATRICIA BEYNON) Expand After sailing to reelection as a Democrat in 2021 and dominating a contested Democratic primary Tuesday with more than 75% of the vote, Cognetti now faces another potential glass-ceiling-breaker in Republican mayoral candidate Patricia 'Trish' Beynon. The accounting executive defeated business owner Lynn Labrosky by 118 votes in Tuesday's GOP primary, securing the Republican nomination for mayor in November's municipal election, according to unofficial election results. If elected, Beynon would become the first Republican woman to take City Hall and Scranton's first elected GOP mayor since the late Jimmy Connors, a Democrat who switched parties and won the office as a Republican in 1989 before switching back in 2000 during his third term. Then-Republican City Councilman Wayne Evans was appointed interim mayor after Courtright resigned in disgrace, serving for several months until Cognetti succeeded him in January of 2020. Patricia Beynon celebrates with supporters at Cooper's Seafood House in Scranton on Tuesday night after capturing the Republican nomination for Scranton mayor. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO) Beynon will have to overcome a considerable Democratic voter-registration advantage to make that history, which will require defeating Cognetti and a possible field of independent candidates for mayor in November. The entrance of would-be independent mayoral candidate Gene Barrett, the former Scranton Sewer Authority executive director and a former city councilman who originally announced plans to challenge Cognetti in the Democratic primary but ultimately didn't file paperwork to appear on the ballot, would certainly change the dynamic of the race. Barrett forecasted his potential independent run in March after Democratic former Scranton School Board President Bob Sheridan filed to challenge Cognetti, telling The Times-Tribune on the day of the filing deadline that a three-person Democratic primary would only split up votes to the advantage of the incumbent mayor. Cognetti didn't ultimately need that advantage, earning 6,264 votes Tuesday to Sheridan's 1,864, but Barrett could prove a more formidable challenger if he mounts a meaningful independent campaign. Reached last week, he didn't commit to an independent run but didn't rule one out. 'We're looking at it,' Barrett said. 'It will be a practical and common-sense decision. Certainly the incumbent mayor won convincingly in the Democratic primary, but on the other hand it wasn't a very strong candidate that she ran against.' Even if Barrett runs and doesn't defeat Cognetti himself, his possible independent candidacy, that of independent mayoral candidate Mike Mancini and potential others would likely siphon votes away from Cognetti to Beynon's advantage. It's an advantage she could use in a city where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by a more than 2-1 margin and hold the registration advantage in every one of Scranton's 48 precincts. Mayor Paige Cognetti enters her campaign headquarters after winning the Democratic primary mayoral election in Scranton on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) Running for mayor as a Democrat, Cognetti has never failed to garner at least 70% of the vote. She earned 71.36% in her 2021 municipal primary victory over Democratic City Controller John Murray, 72.51% in the 2021 municipal election where she defeated longshot Republican candidate Darwin Lee Shaw II and 75.51% to Sheridan's 22.47% Tuesday. But despite that success, Cognetti's endorsement wasn't enough to get her preferred city council candidate, Democratic city planning commissioner member Todd Pousley, over the finish line in the Democratic primary for city council. It was a defeat that could hamper Cognetti's ability to enact her legislative agenda should she win another four-year term this fall. City council The dynamic of city council was going to change regardless of Tuesday's outcomes, as two of the three Democratic council members who most frequently align with Cognetti on legislative matters — Council President Gerald Smurl, Councilman Bill King and Councilwoman Jessica Rothchild — are set to leave office after this year. King didn't seek reelection, and Smurl withdrew from Democratic primary contention in March amid issues with certain signatures on his nomination petitions. His withdrawal left a field of six Democratic candidates — Pousley, incumbent Councilman Tom Schuster, Scranton School Director Sean McAndrew, former state House candidate Patrick Flynn, political organizer Frankie Malacaria and vocal Cognetti critic Virgil Argenta — vying for three Democratic nominations to advance to November's municipal election, when three seats on the five-member council are up for grabs. Flynn, McAndrew and Schuster won nominations Tuesday, with Flynn finishing as the top vote-getter. They'll appear on November's ballot alongside Republican Marc Pane, who was the lone candidate in the GOP primary. Whoever wins the three council seats in November will serve alongside Rothchild and Democratic Councilman Mark McAndrew, Sean McAndrew's uncle, when council reorganizes. Patrick Flynn, who captured a Democratic nomination for Scranton City Council on Tuesday night, celebrates with his wife, Kate, at Benny's on Green Ridge Street in Scranton. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO) Smurl said last week he doesn't currently intend to seek reelection as an independent, but left open the possibility that he'll reconsider. Nonetheless, Tuesday's council outcome was a blow for Cognetti who, should she win reelection, stands to lose two often reliable votes on the five-member legislative body. The administration's legislative proposals require the majority support of three council members to pass, assuming all members are voting, and a supermajority of four can override the mayor's veto. In past votes where council split and Cognetti's proposed legislation narrowly passed 3-2, Smurl, King and Rothchild often voted together in support of her proposals with Schuster and Mark McAndrew opposed. That's not to say Smurl, King and Rothchild always align with the mayor or that Schuster and Mark McAndrew never do — council members are free agents and the body often votes unanimously. Flynn, Sean McAndrew and Pane could also find common ground with the mayor if she's reelected and they secure council seats. But the defeat of Pousley, who finished fourth despite Cognetti's backing, means one less likely ally on council for the mayor should she retain City Hall. Cognetti acknowledged the harder road ahead in her victory speech Tuesday. 'We have a real fight on our hands for city council,' she told her supporters, Pousley among them. 'We will continue to fight to make sure that we have a city council, with Dr. Rothchild, that can continue to help us make this progress and not try to tear down everything that we've built. So, it's going to be a slog. We've got a long way to go until November.' Schuster took umbrage with those remarks at Thursday's council meeting. 'I saw comments in the paper by the mayor and if I don't question things while on this council I'm not doing my job as a councilman, so I'd just like to put that out there,' he said. 'I think a lot of progress is made and this council passes most things that come from down from this mayor.' School district The race for Scranton School Board lacked the political acrimony that often marks primary elections. City voters backed experience. Incumbent board Vice President Danielle Chesek led the field in both the Democratic and Republican primaries. In Pennsylvania school board candidates can cross-file, meaning they can seek both Democratic and Republican nominations to secure spots on the November ballot. In the school board race all but one of the six candidates cross-filed and all but one, 22-year-old political newcomer Julien M. Wells, secured either a Democratic nomination, a GOP nomination or both. Chesek, recently appointed school Director Jenna Strzelecki and retired district Chief Information Officer Joe Brazil won nominations on both the Democratic and Republican ballots. Former school Director Carol J. Cleary, running only as a Democrat, won a Democratic nomination, while former Scranton City Council candidate John Howe won a nomination on the Republican ballot. From left: Scranton School Board candidates Joe Brazil, Danielle Chesek, Carol Cleary, John Howe and Jenna Strzelecki. (Chad Sebring / Staff Photos) Howe is the only of the winning primary candidates not to have worked for the district, served on the board or currently serve in that capacity. Strzelecki, the board's newest member, was appointed to a vacant board seat in late April. Tuesday's results suggest voters put stock in experience. And with four seats on the nine-member school board up for grabs this year, the majority of the five candidates that secured nominations Tuesday seem likely to win or maintain board seats. Several of the candidates who won nominations in the primary complimented the other candidates in the field after the polls closed. And while all candidates for school director are focused on the challenges ahead for the district — from improving educational outcomes and bolstering curriculums to providing the best possible education for the district's roughly 9,300 students amid the looming threat of federal funding cuts — the Scranton School Board has proven a reliable pipeline for city offices. Cognetti, Schuster and Mark McAndrew all previously served on the school board, Sean McAndrew is a current school director and King, the outgoing city councilman, is the district's former superintendent. The window for individuals who plan to run as independent or third-party candidates in November's municipal election to begin circulating nomination papers opened March 12. The last day to file those papers is Aug. 1. The municipal election itself is Nov. 4.
