OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Each month, more than 2,100 elementary students in the Omaha area are given books to call their own.

The kids in kindergarten through third grade receive $7 worth of books at their reading level from a catalog. Teachers handle the paperwork, and United Way of the Midlands pays the bill.

The 10 schools from six districts involved in the Book Trust program were chosen based on their students’ families’ incomes and in part on the schools’ resources. The program began in September.

Data from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a children’s welfare organization, show that students who can’t read proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school than their peers are.