32 grants were awarded for a total of $61,269.37. By category they were as follows:
COLORADO
Summit County
Keystone Science School in Keystone, CO
$2,500 for in-class astronomy lessons that will reach six schools and 252 students. The in-class lessons will be followed by a family astronomy night at Keystone Science School’s campus and observatory.
Lake Dillon Theatre Company in Dillon, CO
$2,000 to expand programs at schools in the Summit County School District with professional performance and creative arts instruction that is integrated with the existing curriculum. A total of 330 students at four schools will be reached through this program.
Silverthorne Elementary School in Silverthorne, CO
$2,305.15 for a Reading Recovery intervention program that targets first grade students who are struggling in reading and writing. Children will receive daily lessons taught by specifically trained teachers using books purchased with these funds.
Summit Family Resource Center in Dillon, CO
$2,000 to distribute age-appropriate books at 1,000 well-child visits and to explain the importance of reading in early childhood. There will be books available for families to check out as well.
Grand County
West Grand School District in Kremmling, CO
$750 to purchase books from the nominated titles promoted through the Colorado Blue Spruce Award and Colorado Children’s Award. The eventual objective is to expand this program to K-12 grades.
Eagle County
Eagle County Schools – Exceptional Student Services in Eagle, CO
$572.27will allow teachers to utilize Literacy Tubs to read and work with the most at-risk students across the Eagle Valley. Literacy Tubs will include texts, magnetic letters and dry erase boards that provide hands-on learning opportunities.
I Can Read, Inc. in Gypsum, CO
$750 for a bilingual I Can Read Songs project for Kindergarten teachers at Gypsum Elementary School. The books, DVDs and Word Fun will go to help families increase early literacy learning and fun at home.
Roaring Fork Conservancy in Basalt, CO
$2,000 for scholarship funding so students can attend watershed education programs that highlight the ecological, chemical, physical and cultural significance of local riparian areas and water issues.
Vail Valley Foundation’s Youth Foundation in Vail, CO
$2,500 for the bi-monthly Raising a Reader program that serves 54 families with children aged 0-3. Families receive a bag with developmentally appropriate books, instruction, modeling and coaching.
Garfield County
Literacy Outreach in Glenwood Springs, CO
$2,250 to teach basic literacy skills or English speaking skills to adult students and their family members who are at the lowest levels of literacy or English speaking proficiencies. Community volunteers work with adult students in need.
Mesa County
Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra in Grand Junction, CO
$2,500 so that young children can learn about the history, sounds and instruments of the orchestra through storytelling, music demonstrations by orchestra members and the Instrument Petting Zoo which gives children the opportunity to try an instrument for themselves.
Weld County
Dos Rios Elementary School in Evans, CO
$2,500 for Fifth Grade Students working in conjunction with the USDA Forest Service to conduct simulated field research including excavation, survey, mapping, grassland ecology and the study of Native American history. These funds will provide students with non-fiction novel sets, compasses and GIS mapping devices.
Gilcrest Elementary School in Gilcrest, CO
$2,000 for programs that encourage students to read and do math at home. Results are tracked through log books and parents are involved. Funds are used for rewards directly tied to the efforts of the children.
Boys & Girls Club of Weld County in Greeley, CO
$2,000 for programs that will revitalize and expand the children’s book libraries at all four Boys & Girls Club sites. Funds will be used to buy books for the four centers, where they will be displayed more effectively than in the past.
Brentwood Middle School in Greeley, CO
$600 for a newspaper editorial class. Students will learn to draft, write and then edit their writing and then will work together to complete a newspaper each month that utilizes their own voice. Funds will purchase layout software, one or two cameras and memory chips.
Catholic Charities of Weld County in Greeley, CO
$2,500 for assessment and development of an instructional plan for children in homeless families who visit the Guadalupe Center. Funds will be used for books, tablet applications, supplies and instructor stipends and parental involvement is encouraged.
High Plains Library District Foundation in Greeley, CO
$2,000 for children’s books for the Riverside Library. The Riverside Library and Cultural Center are part of a 2013 flood rebuilding and revitalization effort in partnership with the City of Evans.
Winograd K-8 in Greeley, CO
$1,491 to purchase 10 levels of the Read Naturally Encore Series, which includes stories, comprehension questions and CDs in addition to other resources. The materials will be used to promote comprehension for students reading below grade level.
Colorado Foundation for Agriculture in Livermore, CO
$2,000 for books and lesson materials that allow volunteers from numerous agricultural groups to bring information about raising crops and livestock to students in Weld County.
OREGON
Douglas County
Glide Elementary School in Idleyld Park, OR
$1,679.70 for books, binoculars, compasses, magnifying glasses and other supplies. These will be used by sixth graders who will write, illustrate, edit and publish individual field guides as a part of a project to revitalize the school campus natural area.
Cobb Discovery Learning Center in Roseburg, OR
$1,243.03 for books to enhance the literacy resources for 7 classrooms serving students 6 weeks to age 10 as well as to create a lending library for mothers undergoing residential alcohol and drug treatment.
CALIFORNIA
Nevada County
Bell Hill Academy in Grass Valley, CA
$1,400 to provide a nonfiction library for a Dual Immersion first grade classroom. The library will include Spanish books and a listening center. This new and growing public school program currently has a waiting list.
Chicago Park Community Charter School in Grass Valley, CA
$2,500 for a Science Education program offered by the Sierra Streams Institute for 2nd-8th grade students. A curriculum guide followed by a local exploratory day trip will provide hands-on scientific observation, data collection and field journaling.
Full-Circle Learning in Nevada City, CA
$2,220 for an in-home preschool program that reinforces life skills and literacy through bilingual reading at home. Funds will purchase books and provide workshops for parents of under served families with themes that include friendliness, respect, cooperation and kindness.
El Dorado County
Bijou Community School Library in South Lake Tahoe, CA
$2,000 for purchase of 180 natural science books in areas including astronomy, earth science, paleontology and zoological sciences. The 583 students at Bijou Community School visit the library each week for story time, and these materials will update their offerings.
Friends of the Library South Lake Tahoe Chapter in South Lake Tahoe, CA
$1,000 for purchase of paperback books to be used in teen book groups at the local juvenile treatment center. Book groups are geared to increasing literacy, comprehension, oral expression and empathy for others.
Tahoe Valley Elementary School in South Lake Tahoe, CA
$2,500 for purchase of leveled, high-interest, non-fiction texts that are at a low-readability level for upper primary students. These will be used to develop reading skills while also developing background knowledge, vocabulary and higher-order thinking skills and to train adults in methods to accelerate reading skills while incorporating STEM.
NEVADA
Churchill County
Friends of Oasis Academy in Fallon, NV
$2,500 for a licensed teacher to tutor using online reading blogs for 200 students in grades 3-8 during the summer months.
Lyon County
Silver Springs Elementary School in Silver Springs, NV
$1,916.22 for the Bessie Backpack Program. Bessie Backpacks will contain leveled readers, iPod shuffles containing books and music focused on emerging learning skills and hints and suggestions for parents. These will be part of a borrowing system for low-income parents of preschoolers.
Smith Valley Friends of the Library in Wellington, NV
$2,408 for purchase of the Renaissance Learning’s Accelerated Reading program for the over 200 students in grades 2-12 in Smith Valley Schools. Reading of both fiction and non-fiction books is followed by comprehension testing specific to the book.
Washoe County
Incline Elementary School in Incline Village, NV
$2,184 for the purchase of Tile Sets, Binders and Dividers to be used with the Barton Reading and Spelling system as part of a literacy program that begins in the summer of 2014 and continues through the 2014-2015 school year. The program will target students who perform at the 25th percentile and below.
Northern Nevada Literacy Council in Reno, Nevada
$2,500 for purchase of books, backpacks, notebooks and instructor time for 20 adult learners and 40 of their children. Adult learners are preparing to pass the GED exam or are taking ESL classes, and this summer program will encourage parents and their school-aged children to read together.