Second grade students from Joyce Salter and Pam Goldman's class were the first students to experience the new reading lounge inside the library at Wilson Elementary School.

Inspired by the book Igniting a Passion for Reading: Successful Strategies for Building Lifetime Readers by Steven L. Layne, Wilson elementary staff members Joan Wetmore, Goldman, Margie Katz and Meryl Nannis wanted to create a comfortable place where students could DEAR - Drop Everything And Read.

Precision Marketing Group, LLC in the spring reached out to the elementary school, that has struggled readers, and asked how the Framingham-based marketing company could help with the school's literacy and Reading Is Fundamental efforts.

After meeting to collaborate, the two groups decided that Precision Marketing would sponsor the new reading lounge, featuring 26 green, blue and red bean bag chairs and reading lights.

Students created the art work on the walls. The literary-themed art will be reotated during the school year. Teachers reserve weekly time in the lounge for their classroom.

“We are so thankful to Precision Marketing Group for their generous contribution of bean bag chairs, lamps and poster frames so we can decorate the lounge walls with student artwork,” said Woodrow Wilson principal Robin Welch.

“We have been fortunate to have had a very successful couple of years,” said Maureen O’Grady Condon, a Framingham resident and PMG principal. “My business partner, Susan LaPlante-Dube, and the rest of our team have been thinking about ways to give back that would align with our values, and childhood literacy made perfect sense. Helping with this reading lounge, where the students will be able to relax and read the books they love, has been a wonderful opportunity.”

The students wasted no time finding a bean bag and started reading. Welch stopped by for the grand opening and selected a jazz-themed book to read.

Condon and LaPlante-Dube also joined in on the reading and listened to a few students read from their selected books.