The Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1 is pleased to announce it has received a grant in the amount of $3,000 from the Colorado State Library through the State Grants to Libraries Act.
The funds will be distributed evenly among Manaugh Elementary, Kemper Elementary and Mesa Elementary schools. Each school maintains a self-contained library for students and parents to use. These funds will benefit 1,095 students in grades K-5.
Kemper Principal Angela Galyon said, “We are thrilled that students in RE-1 will benefit from the library grant. Students will be casting their votes, and we will purchase student’s favorite titles from picture books to novels.” Mesa Principal KD Umbarger added, “The grant supports our goal of helping our younger students be grade-level proficient by the end of third grade. The books will support classroom libraries and intervention groups.”
Donetta Dehart, principal of Manaugh Elementary School said, “A portion of the library grant went to purchase math literature for students to check out as well as for staff to use when teaching concepts through narrative. A portion of the grant money will be spent purchasing books for the library that is both narrative and expository and of current interest to the students. Especially when a current series by an author is popular, groups of students are looking for the same titles. We will buy additional copies of books that are highly sought after by our student populations.”
Kathy Carpenter, a teacher at Manaugh Elementary said, “The importance of including literature in mathematics education is multifaceted. When children can connect mathematical ideas with stories they enjoy, they begin to see numbers as accessible and interesting – something they are more than capable of mastering. Literature stimulates children’s imaginations. With imaginations engaged, children can problem-solve. Strong problem-solving skills require critical thinking. The jobs of the future will go to those people who can critically think about new ways to solve problems. Merging literature with numerical concepts is a win-win situation for reading and for math!”