This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
My name is Lori Feldstein-Gardner. I am the School Library Media Specialist at PS 112, a Title I 3K-2nd grade school in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York City. What makes my students special is their sense of imagination! There is nothing better than sharing stories with my students that allow us to take trips to fantastic locations - books like Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak and Legends of Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke. When we share these stories, we are transported together through time and space. It is a magical experience.
In the 2019-2020 school year, out of our 340 students, approximately 41% had Individualized Educational Plans, 21% were classified as English Language Learners, and over 97% were living below the poverty level.
Over a third of our students have language developmental delays, and or language processing delays and 10% of our student population have high functioning Autism. The school library aims to bridge these gaps. One way we do this is by offering our students a huge variety of different reading materials both in print and electronically. My goal is to help every student at PS 112 fall madly in love with reading!
My Project
The number one goal of the PS 112 School Library is to develop a love of reading! To do this, especially given our population in which so many students are English Language Learners and such a large percentage struggle with language processing delays, it is vital to provide my students with highly engaging books whose stories center on images as well as words.
All readers including struggling readers gravitate towards graphic novels because the pictures and visuals are less intimidating than a typical book.
Students who read these graphic novels find reading fun and begin to read more for enjoyment! Graphic novels are a gateway to developing a love of reading for reluctant readers. It is so important that we get graphic novels into the hands of these new readers!
More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Feldstein-Gardner and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
