Godfrey Elementary School parents and students recently joined each other for lunch and a celebration of reading, as third-graders each received a new book to bring home.
Mom Prudencia Ramirez turned pages with her 3-year-old, Alexandra, while her third-grader, Laysha Ramirez-Mendoza, seemed to glow while looking at her award for “great growth in reading.” Laysha said she was excited to have her mom at school with her, and Ramirez said she was happy to be there.
“I’m excited to see my kid because she got an award in reading. I’m trying my best for every one of my kids in that way.”
The event was the first of three planned lunches this spring for third- through fifth-graders to bring in parents to spend time together and get a new book, funded through federal Title One parent involvement funds, said Jacqueline Wearing, English-language-learner teacher.
“It’s just to share and reiterate the importance of reading at home, and also just getting kids and parents excited about reading together,” Wearing said. “It’s always fun for them to get a new book that they’re interested in.”
Godfrey-Lee is a low-income district with a large Hispanic population. “We want to increase access to books,” Wearing said, noting many families don’t have a lot of them at home.
Books, some in Spanish and some bilingual, were available at various levels and in assorted genres. “We definitely want to encourage reading — no matter what language is spoken at home — and reading in Spanish helps with reading in English,” she said.
