Governor Parson and First Lady to Celebrate Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Missouri

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Governor Mike Parson and First Lady Teresa Parson will join Dolly Parton and her Imagination Library team for a celebration event on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, in Kansas City, Missouri. The event, organized in partnership with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), will begin at 11 a.m.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dolly to the Show-Me State and join her in celebrating the Imagination Library program,” said Governor Parson. “Ensuring Missouri’s children receive a quality education is a top priority, and we know that getting children excited about reading and learning at an early age sets them up for success. We are grateful to Dolly, her team, and DESE for bringing these valuable educational resources to Missouri’s children, and we encourage all eligible parents to participate in this program.”

Commissioner of Education Karla Eslinger, who played a key role in the legislative effort to bring the program to Missouri, expressed her enthusiasm for the event. “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,” Eslinger said. “Since the program launched in November 2023, we have enrolled more than 137,000 Missouri children in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. We hope Dolly’s visit to Missouri will help us promote the program even further, reaching the families of the remaining 262,000 Missouri children who are eligible.”

The expansion of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library across Missouri was made possible by legislation sponsored by Eslinger and signed into law by Governor Parson in 2022. The program received full funding with $11 million allocated in DESE’s Fiscal Year 2024 and 2025 budgets.

Missouri is the 14th state to commit to a statewide Imagination Library program, and it is the first state to fully fund the program from its inception, making all children under five years old eligible on the first day of the statewide rollout.

DESE will issue invitations to the event this week, targeting Imagination Library of Missouri partners, early childhood education stakeholders, and other special guests. The event will also be livestreamed by Kansas City PBS at kansascitypbs.org/dolly, allowing families, parent groups, classrooms, and community partners across the state to participate in the celebration.

Missouri parents and guardians can register their children under five years old for the Imagination Library at any time. The program provides age-appropriate books free of charge, delivered monthly to children’s homes.

For more information on Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Missouri, visit DESE’s website.