Malley Drive Elementary receives a grant for books

The staff and students of Malley Drive Elementary School are the proud recipients of the 2022 Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries Grant. Grant authors, Kristen Loesel and Carrie Weaver (Digital Literacy Partners at Malley, Centennial and STEM Launch) drafted the $5000 grant to increase representation of the diverse cultures and student populations at Malley. Their goal with this grant was to add literature that mirrors their students' ethnicity, race, and culture and provide windows into other life experiences. Weaver and Loesel collaborated during the 2021-22 school year to make it all happen! The books were ordered and delivered to the library this year and students were there to help them unbox. The Library Media Technician at Malley, Melissa Lord, is already getting requests for these books for next fall. During the 2021-2022 grant cycle, the Laura Bush Foundation awarded $1.5 million in grants to 300 school libraries across 44 states. Malley was the only Adams 12 school to earn this grant this year! Congratulations to Mrs. Loesel, Ms. Weaver, the staff, and students at Malley for this huge accomplishment. To quote Laura Bush, " Once a child learns to use a library, the doors to learning are always open." This grant will go a long way to opening windows and doors for our students.

This story exemplifies our ELEVATE Focus Area: Diverse Learning. Sharing stories of how students receive engaging learning experiences and the focused-attention they need through appropriate student-to-staff ratios and varied programming.