President Charlie Shields | Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
President Charlie Shields | Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Dolly Parton is set to visit Missouri for a statewide celebration of her Imagination Library program. The event, organized by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), will take place on August 27, 2024, in Kansas City. It aims to highlight the achievements of the Imagination Library of Missouri and encourage more families to participate.
Invited guests include partners from the Imagination Library of Missouri, early childhood education stakeholders, and other special attendees. DESE has collaborated with Kansas City PBS to broadcast the event live across Missouri, allowing families and community partners to join via kansascitypbs.org/dolly.
Karla Eslinger, Commissioner of Education, expressed her enthusiasm: "As the former Senator who carried the Imagination Library of Missouri legislation, to now being in the role of Commissioner, this is a full-circle moment." She noted that since its launch in November 2023, over 137,000 children have been enrolled in the program. Eslinger hopes Parton's visit will help reach more eligible families.
Missouri stands out as the 14th state committed to a statewide Imagination Library initiative. Governor Mike Parson and First Lady Teresa Parson shared their excitement: “We are thrilled to welcome Dolly to the Show-Me State and join her to celebrate the Imagination Library program.” They emphasized their commitment to ensuring quality education for Missouri's children.
The program offers free books monthly to all registered children under five years old. Parents or guardians can register their children on the national website without any deadline constraints. Books are mailed directly until each child's fifth birthday.
Funding for this expansion was secured through Section 178.694, RSMo, with $11 million allocated in DESE’s budgets for fiscal years 2024 and 2025.
DESE issued a media advisory on July 30 for those interested in attending. Media registration remains open until August 15 at 4:00 p.m., with further details forthcoming.
Since its inception in 1995 by The Dollywood Foundation, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has become a leading early childhood book-gifting initiative globally. Over 250 million books have been distributed worldwide through partnerships with local communities and states. Penguin Random House serves as its exclusive publisher.
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