Grant For Pflugerville Elementary School Will Help Fortify Children's Library

PFLUGERVILLE, TX -- The Dollar General Literacy Foundation recently awarded Pflugerville ISD’s Dessau Elementary School a $4,000 grant to support youth literacy. school district officials said.

This local grant is part of $4.5 million in youth literacy grants awarded to approximately 1,000 organizations across the 43 states that Dollar General serves, officials said in a press release. The grants are designed to support teachers, schools and organizations with resources to strengthen and enhance literacy instruction.

Sixty percent of students at Dessau Elementary, which serves students in grades 3-5, are not native English speakers, with half the classes Dual Language. The ultimate goal for school officials is to produce bi-literate students, creating a high demand for books written in Spanish,school officials noted.

When the grant was written, only 12.7 percent of the school's library books were in Spanish.

"Literacy does not happen without literature," Principal Jesusita Avalos said. "The books we will buy with this grant money are the missing link between our goal and our available resources."

Librarian Karen Myers engaged the students in the buying process by allowing them to help choose books, authors and topics they found of interest, creating excitement among the children in the process. School officials said the "flood of new books" is no highly anticipated, and has sparked renewed interest in the library program.

“By awarding these grants, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation is committed to making a meaningful impact in our local communities,” Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s chief executive officer, said. “These grants provide funds to support youth literacy initiatives and educational programs throughout the communities we serve to ensure a successful academic year for students.”

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $127 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, schools and libraries within a 20-mile radius of a store or distribution facility. To learn more about the foundation, click here.

>>> Image via Shutterstock