Matt McNaughtan drove away from Daniels Canyon Elementary in Heber City early Monday morning — his minivan full of donated books he didn’t believe would fit had he left the seat in — and headed toward Bluff Elementary School in San Juan County.

Generous families with students attending Daniels Canyon donated the books, as well as women involved in the Widows of Wasatch County organization, and the books were on their way to kids and families who hail from very different socioeconomic backgrounds.

The schools are only 318 miles apart, but the chasm between them is much greater.

In the San Juan School District, Matt explained, it’s not uncommon for students to have to worry about amenities or basic living conditions most kids in the Wasatch County School District never have to think about. 

“It’s just a different game,” he explained. “Some of these kids … they truck the water in. They don’t have running water to their homes, or electricity. Some of them might live far enough off that they might have electricity, but they’ve got to gas up their generator.”

The first day he worked at Bluff Elementary, teachers were visiting their students at home. They took bags of flour. 

According to a Sep. 2023 study published by the Utah Department of Workforce Services, San Juan County has the highest rates of both adults and children experiencing intergenerational poverty. 

In 2022, that meant 35.4% of children in the county experienced intergenerational poverty. 55.8% were at risk of being in that situation.

Comparatively, less than 3% of Wasatch County’s children experienced intergenerational poverty at that time, and less than 15% are at risk.

Matt has only worked at Bluff Elementary for about a month. He was hired as a student success coach through a grant, but he was told early on he was to wear many hats. He works as a liaison between the school and parents and oversees several programs to encourage and promote reading.

Monday’s book drive was born out of a conversation he was having with his brother Dave McNaughtan, the principal at Daniels Canyon.

“I was talking with him about what his thoughts were, what programs worked and how I just want to flood these kids with books,” Matt said. “I mentioned how some of these kids have to ride on a bus for an hour just to come to school and they’re coming great distances. … He said, ‘Oh, you should have books on the bus.'”

Matt loved the idea.

“If they’re sitting on the bus anyway, if there’s books right in front of them, there’s a better chance that they’ll read them. And so that kind of like was the birth of asking for this book drive,” he said. “We’re working now to get book pouches put on the back of the bus seats so that the kids will just have them sitting there, easily accessible.”

If a kid gets to their stop and they want the book or haven’t finished reading it, Matt said they can take it with them.

Even if the stories sit unread for long stretches of time, at least there’s a possibility and an opportunity for kids to eventually find their way between the pages.

“That’s just what we’re after,” he said. “I can guarantee there’s a better chance that that kid’s going to open up a book with a stack of books there than no books at all. So it’s a gateway.”

For one week, Dave ran a book drive. He said it wasn’t hugely advertised, that he just sent an email to parents letting them know about the effort.

He said that — coupled with the three or four boxes from Widows of Wasatch — resulted in “a ton of books.”

“He filled his minivan,” Dave said. “He took all the seats out and we filled the back of his minivan. … If I were guessing, I would say it had to have been in the thousands.”

This, he emphasized, was just one of the district’s five elementary schools. The brothers are already considering a larger-scale drive, but Matt said he must first find homes for all of the books that filled his minivan just from a one-week, one-school effort.

“I am sure I’m going to share with other elementaries, possibly even one of the health clinics down in Monument Valley,” Matt said.

Dave explained how socioeconomically disadvantaged kids often aren’t exposed to the same amount of words as kids who come from wealthier positions. Books, he said, can play a vital role in establishing their vocabularies and background knowledge.

“The world experience is just hugely different, and so we can provide the experience,” he said. “They always say if you want to see the world, read a book. That’s the opportunities we’re trying to provide these kids.”

Dave emphasized how much the successful book drive speaks toward the community of Wasatch County and their willingness to help others. 

Matt said he is extremely grateful.

“Everyone’s been so willing to help,” Matt said. “I can’t thank them enough.”