Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
Monday, April 29 was no ordinary Monday for Madison County Central School (MCCS). On that Monday, Irma Kelley, wife of long-time Madison community leader Alston Kelley, and family honored the memory of Alston’s first wife, Kay, with a generous, $3,000+, donation to the school. The money donated will be used for books for the Accelerated Reader program at the school.
Kay was a long-time educator for 38 years in Madison County and was the Media Specialist overseeing the library at MCCS. When the school was built, it was Kay who gave her thoughts and ideas on how the school’s library should be designed and constructed. Over the years, many students heard stories read to them by Kay. “Even after Kay retired, we could be in the grocery store and kids, and even some adults, would point and say, ‘There’s the story lady,’” recalls Alston. She [Kay] was always much more well known, and loved, than I was in the community.”
It was also Kay who was instrumental in beginning the Accelerated Reader program in the Madison County school system. The Accelerated Reader program inspires students on all grade levels to read more. The program allows students to earn “points” for reading books and passing a simple exam afterward. In the MCCS library is a book vending machine where students can “purchase” books. The students earn “credits” through the Accelerated Reader program that can then be used in the machine. This is yet another incentive to encourage reading among students through the Accelerated Reader program.
Kay sadly passed away in October of 2021. However, through the work and generosity of Irma Kelley and the rest of the Kelley family, Kay’s legacy will live on in the lives of countless students Kay never met.