Books for Hillcrest School Students
Donation protected
Help put high-quality, engaging books into the hands of students at Hillcrest, a public elementary school in San Francisco, whose families have been severely impacted by the coronavirus. Our multiethnic, multilingual students need access to books that match their interests and language backgrounds.
In March, we thought school would be closed for just three weeks. Books were distributed to ensure students would have reading materials at home.
Today, all classes are still completely remote. Hillcrest is under construction so the school and classroom libraries are closed. Worse, a recent survey showed that more than 90% of our students have fewer than 50 books at home. In addition, 66% are not able to access their account with Hoopla, a digital media service through SF public library, one of their main sources of ebooks.
The funds from this project will go towards the purchase of diverse books that match our students’ interests, their ethnic and language backgrounds from local independent and black-owned bookstores. A donation of $25 would on average cover the cost of 3 books.
Reading has a direct impact on students' academic success and self-confidence as a learner. Help us put high-quality engaging books into the hands of Hillcrest students in time for Thanksgiving break!
About our students:
Hillcrest School, located in the Excelsior District in San Francisco, has 400+ K-5 students from many backgrounds (including Latinx, Asian, and African American) who speak multiple languages. About 80% of our students are on free and reduced lunch and over 60% are designated English Language Learners. Additionally, 38% of our families are homeless.
Impact of COVID-19:
Since March, many of our families have been impacted by COVID19 resulting in unemployment, housing instability, and a growing number of calls of help for food, clothing, and other basic supplies. Other families are unable to support their children at home during the school day because the adults are essential workers or because of language and/or technological barriers.
Our actions so far:
We spent the first months of school distributing devices, hot spots, and materials to families. All students are currently learning remotely on district Chromebooks, and most are now attending classes regularly, although some are still facing the challenges of navigating the multiple dimensions of distance learning which requires them to move from one platform to another. For our youngest students and those with learning differences, this is most challenging.
Why books?
While families are working to take care of their essential needs, we are concerned about our students’ academic, particularly their literacy, development. Books in the home are the single biggest indicator of academic success — surpassing income, parents’ education, family composition, and all other factors. To do well in school, children need to grow up in homes rich with books. (Jeff McQuillan, The Literacy Crisis: False Claims, Real Solutions, 1998).
As with anything, practice increases competence. The more we read, the better we read and comprehend. Reading also has a direct impact on writing and self-confidence. Gholdy Muhammad, author of Cultivating Genius, says literacy is the foundation of all learning, “connected to acts of self-empowerment, self-determination, and self-liberation.” In order to accelerate their literacy development, our students need books that are engaging and reflect their lives and interests, ones they want to read again and again.
Especially critical at this time is for students to be reading 30-45 minutes daily. While the students have been given access to digital reading materials, it’s important for them to read on different mediums. It isn’t healthy for anyone to spend the day on a laptop and only read texts from a screen, regardless of the quality of those texts.
Schools have traditionally been the sole source of books for children in many communities, and with the pandemic, those resources have dried up for our students. Many of our families are experiencing a book desert. Another survey showed that five students have used the curbside pickup option through the public library. Providing access to books for our students is an enormous challenge, and we are investigating multiple and creative ways to ensure reading lives for each and every one.
How you can help:
Our goal is to distribute 8-10 books to our K-2 students and 4-6 books to our 3-5 grade students. We have started to collect books that have been donated by friends and community organizations. 100% of the funds from this project will go towards the purchase of diverse books that match our students’ interests, their ethnic and language backgrounds from local independent and black-owned bookstores. Your donation of any size would bring literacy support to our students and keep bookstores in business. A donation of $25 would on average cover the cost of 3 books.
In March, we thought school would be closed for just three weeks. Books were distributed to ensure students would have reading materials at home.
Today, all classes are still completely remote. Hillcrest is under construction so the school and classroom libraries are closed. Worse, a recent survey showed that more than 90% of our students have fewer than 50 books at home. In addition, 66% are not able to access their account with Hoopla, a digital media service through SF public library, one of their main sources of ebooks.
The funds from this project will go towards the purchase of diverse books that match our students’ interests, their ethnic and language backgrounds from local independent and black-owned bookstores. A donation of $25 would on average cover the cost of 3 books.
Reading has a direct impact on students' academic success and self-confidence as a learner. Help us put high-quality engaging books into the hands of Hillcrest students in time for Thanksgiving break!
About our students:
Hillcrest School, located in the Excelsior District in San Francisco, has 400+ K-5 students from many backgrounds (including Latinx, Asian, and African American) who speak multiple languages. About 80% of our students are on free and reduced lunch and over 60% are designated English Language Learners. Additionally, 38% of our families are homeless.
Impact of COVID-19:
Since March, many of our families have been impacted by COVID19 resulting in unemployment, housing instability, and a growing number of calls of help for food, clothing, and other basic supplies. Other families are unable to support their children at home during the school day because the adults are essential workers or because of language and/or technological barriers.
Our actions so far:
We spent the first months of school distributing devices, hot spots, and materials to families. All students are currently learning remotely on district Chromebooks, and most are now attending classes regularly, although some are still facing the challenges of navigating the multiple dimensions of distance learning which requires them to move from one platform to another. For our youngest students and those with learning differences, this is most challenging.
Why books?
While families are working to take care of their essential needs, we are concerned about our students’ academic, particularly their literacy, development. Books in the home are the single biggest indicator of academic success — surpassing income, parents’ education, family composition, and all other factors. To do well in school, children need to grow up in homes rich with books. (Jeff McQuillan, The Literacy Crisis: False Claims, Real Solutions, 1998).
As with anything, practice increases competence. The more we read, the better we read and comprehend. Reading also has a direct impact on writing and self-confidence. Gholdy Muhammad, author of Cultivating Genius, says literacy is the foundation of all learning, “connected to acts of self-empowerment, self-determination, and self-liberation.” In order to accelerate their literacy development, our students need books that are engaging and reflect their lives and interests, ones they want to read again and again.
Especially critical at this time is for students to be reading 30-45 minutes daily. While the students have been given access to digital reading materials, it’s important for them to read on different mediums. It isn’t healthy for anyone to spend the day on a laptop and only read texts from a screen, regardless of the quality of those texts.
Schools have traditionally been the sole source of books for children in many communities, and with the pandemic, those resources have dried up for our students. Many of our families are experiencing a book desert. Another survey showed that five students have used the curbside pickup option through the public library. Providing access to books for our students is an enormous challenge, and we are investigating multiple and creative ways to ensure reading lives for each and every one.
How you can help:
Our goal is to distribute 8-10 books to our K-2 students and 4-6 books to our 3-5 grade students. We have started to collect books that have been donated by friends and community organizations. 100% of the funds from this project will go towards the purchase of diverse books that match our students’ interests, their ethnic and language backgrounds from local independent and black-owned bookstores. Your donation of any size would bring literacy support to our students and keep bookstores in business. A donation of $25 would on average cover the cost of 3 books.
Organizer
Sandy Hwa Brumbaum
Organizer
San Francisco, CA