Ridgeview Elementary second-grader Janet De Jesus didn’t have to think twice when she speedily opted for a hot pink and black backpack.
“It’s pretty,” Janet said of her criteria for selecting one of 119 backpacks that recently was made available to Sparta Area Schools’ kindergarten-12th grade students.
Her smile broadens when she’s told the image ablaze on her backpack is the internationally known symbol for peace.
“That’s wonderful,” Janet said.
Donations from retired and active employees of AT&T Inc. made the backpack donation possible for low-income students.
The backpacks were first given to students in kindergarten through second grade, and then building principals seeded the remaining bags throughout their respective schools, said Deb Dufour, the district’s director of title programs.
