Cindy Lee

On the day before school starts, Morgan County Elementary School new media specialist Cindy Lee is sewing curtains out of safari-inspired leopard- and tiger-print fabric as she outfits the media center to create a welcoming, cozy atmosphere for bookworms to dwell.

“I’ve been here every day, but seven days this summer,” Lee said.

Though she previously served as a fourth grade teacher at the school, Lee will begin her first day of school this year in a new position, one she took because of her intense love of reading and her goal to cultivate that love in the students of the elementary school.  

“If children will learn to love to read, it will help them in all areas of life,” she said.

Though she is overwhelmed with preparations for the new school year, which in addition to redecorating include surplusing older books and doing inventory on what the library contains, she really has a passion for encouraging students to read.

“There’s a lot of work involved that people don’t realize,” she said. “We just want the kids to want to come and spend time here and read.”