Board Members Visit Talcott Fine Arts Academy

On Friday, May 1, R4R Board members Paul Natkin and Jeff Peterson celebrated “Day of the Child” with teachers and students at Talcott Academy.  R4R donated a large selection of books and, as part of the celebration, each student in grades pre-K through eighth, was allowed to select five books to take home.

After picking out his books, we overheard fifth grader, Isaac, exclaiming, “Cool! Cool! Cool!”  We asked Isaac about his new books and he proudly showed off his Spanish language book about fire trucks.  “I really like fire trucks, but I really wanted to know about their parts” Isaac told us.
At Talcott, students learn both Spanish and English so teachers and students greatly appreciated the donation of books in both languages.  “There’s never enough books in Spanish,” explains teacher Raysa Ramos.  “Some students are more comfortable reading one language over another, so to have a selection in both languages gets them to read even more.”
Some of the books donated were “just for fun” reading, while others met Talcott’s curriculum.  “We’re getting books that are connected to what we’re teaching which is ideal” said Chicago Public Schools Literacy Coach, Margaret McGregor.  In fact, R4R plans to work closely with Talcott to match future book donations to school lesson plans.

As all of the students patiently stood in line to pick out their books, we could see how much these books meant to them.  After making their selections, most of the kids immediately sat down in the hallway and started to read, some quietly and some, like Isaac, couldn’t contain their excitement.

As the students made their way back to their classrooms, we heard dozens of students say “thank you” which warmed our hearts and made us proud to help kids develop a love of reading. We can’t wait to go to the next school!

R4R Board member Jeff Peterson