Education Grant WinnerMelissa Torres

Reading is a great way for students to build their skills in fluency, vocabulary, and overall reading comprehension. It also is a great resource for those looking to better their language skills, while also enjoying the process through stories that stimulate imagination and creativity.

Melissa Torres, educator at Riverside Park Elementary, was looking for a grant that would help her start a classroom library—one that would also benefit her students whose first language is not English. Thanks to Power of the Dollar^® members, she was awarded a $1,000 grant in December 2024 for her “Classroom Library” idea, which she then used to purchase an array of leveled schoolbooks that would propel her students’ reading success, language understanding, and STARR results.

“My inspiration for applying came from realizing that children are not at their appropriate reading levels,” said Torres. “In my first year out of 20 kids, only six could read or write, and I wasn’t prepared for that. If we had the resources 1) I could help the kids improve their reading, but 2) I could collaborate with my colleagues and come up with an idea, a system, a plan on how to get them reading across the board. It’s been all hands on deck!”

When you’re unable to read due to a language barrier, it can present a challenge—especially when the class is based upon that very subject. It can also be mentally straining if you’re not used to certain vernacular, and so having that outlet where you can communicate in a way where it is comfortable can be a big motivator. Ms. Torres wanted to bring out the best in her students, and with the addition of these books to her classroom it has made them more adept, eager, and engaged.

“They are now more encouraged to read, mainly because they have books that are in their language,” she said. “Now that they have access to books in Spanish, they are on board with independent reading time. They have an option for when they have free time they can get on their laptops and do learning activities, but lately they’ve been like, ‘Can I get a book?’. The books that I purchased with the grant, they’ll all read the same book, and then they all have little mini group discussions. ‘What did you find?’ or ‘What did you think of that? ‘Can you show me the evidence that led you to think that?’ These are conversations that never would have happened at the beginning of the year.”