NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — Summer break is meant to be fun and relaxing for kids, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they should put down the books.

Four teachers with Newport News Public Schools spend a lot of their time off bicycling around the city encouraging young readers to continue reading.

They do it as part of an initiative called Books on Bikes — which is a teacher literacy program that started in Charlottesville. Books on Bikes came to Newport News three and a half  years ago.

Epes Elementary and Greenwood Elementary were the first two schools on board. McIntosh Elementary and Discovery STEM Academy were recently added. The teachers, on bikes, bring books to neighborhoods zoned for those schools and see about one hundred children a week.

One of the riders is Michelle McLean. She is a 4th grade teacher at Epes Elementary.

“Kids have what’s called summer slide. If they don’t pick up a book over the summer, they start school in the fall even a little behind where they were when they left in the spring,” McLean says. “So, keeping them reading over the summer is a great way to keep that from happening.”

The first summer, the teachers bought the books themselves from places like yard sales, thrift stores and scholastic magazines. Now, donations — including financial ones — make it possible to have a larger library and selection in order to serve a lot more children.

If you would like to find out more or donate to Books on Bike Newport News, visit their Facebook page.