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Some of the letters are
heartbreaking, written with such honesty and desperation that it's
easy to see why you couldn't say no. They speak to a need so basic,
so Point-One-on-Page-One, that they show how bad it's gotten in the
public schools of Arizona.
They're the letters of application to the Wells
Fargo Teacher's Partner Program, a little known helping hand from
one of America's oldest businesses to America's children.
"Currently, I do not have reading books to send home with my
students," writes Dana Abugow of San Tan Elementary in Gilbert. "As
students read at their level, at home, their reading skills will
increase."
She is teaching in a brand new school in the
fast-growing Higley Unified School District in the East Valley.
They're so busy building schools, they don't have money for the
books she needs.
And that's where Wells Fargo steps in. Its
program offers grants of up to $500 to educators for one simple
reason: "To place badly needed cash directly into the hands of
Arizona's teachers so they can buy badly needed books, science and
math lab equipment, costumes for school drama productions, computers
and other supplies."
Established in 1997, the program helps teachers
from kindergarten through the 12th grade. So far, it has awarded
Arizona teachers $1 million. (Nationwide, over the last three years,
the company that was founded in 1852 has given more than $60 million
to schools across the country.)
"We're especially proud of this program, which
provides direct help to front-line teachers who are so dedicated to
the children of our state," says Gerrit van Huisstede, president and
CEO of Wells Fargo Arizona. Teachers like Dana Abugow, whose
application notes that teachers and students at San Tan Elementary
have already sponsored many fund-raisers to provide for themselves.
"We have sold catalog items, put on a Halloween carnival, sold
magnets and sold cookie dough," she reports. "These fund-raisers
have been used to buy school items such as playground equipment,
supplies and more.
"First-grade has put on a car wash, sold holiday
baskets and had a no-bake bake sale to go on a field trip and buy
supplies [such as copy paper, glue, scissors and pencils]."
Excuse me, but children are hawking catalog items
so they can have playground equipment? First-graders are washing
cars to buy pencils? Hello! Does anyone else think this is
unbelievable? Shouldn't children be in school to LEARN, not to be
trained as pint-sized fund-raisers?
"As can be seen, San Tan Elementary does not have
the funding to buy anything that is beyond the necessities, so it
would be greatly appreciated if Wells Fargo would help fund this
reading enhancement program," Abugow wrote. With that, she got her
$500 check.
And if you think Dana Abugow is alone, you
haven't been paying attention to the crisis in Arizona classrooms.
Kate Shields of Laveen Elementary in the West
Valley is a brand new teacher who instantly saw the challenges of
her classroom.
"I'm a first year Teach for America teacher at an
at-risk school," she wrote. "I'm currently struggling to improve
reading comprehension, but I lack targeted novels to use for reading
groups."
She says she has some basic fifth-grade books:
"However, I have students reading at anywhere from a kindergarten
and first-grade level to the seventh- and eighth-grade levels. I
feel that using only a fifth-grade text is a disservice to my
students, because my goal is to move each of them individually
forward."
She's been trying to correct the problem on her
own. "I visit the public library weekly to collect resources," she
said. "I have used the school resource room's books, and I have
allocated a large portion of my personal and classroom funds on
novels, but my efforts do not come close to providing the books
necessary for running a successful reading program." She asked Wells
Fargo for $300 to buy books. And she got it.
A grant of $500 went to Marilyn Zolondek and
Natalie Laino of Yavapai Elementary in the Scottsdale Unified
District. They noted that their school has 863 students, 67 percent
of whom are poor enough to receive free or reduced lunches, and
one-third of whom have limited English language skills.
These two women have combined their third-grade classes to team
teach for the past several years. "We are in dire need of third- and
fourth-grade chapter books for our classroom library," they told
Wells Fargo. "Students choose books to read during a daily silent
reading period. The books we have are worn and mainly appropriate
for first- and second-graders. We'd like to purchase new chapter
books and reading materials that would keep students enthused about
reading, and challenged at their appropriate level.
"Many of our students have no home libraries.
Their only access to reading ma-terials is at school. Our goal is to
provide our students with a literature-rich classroom, which would
allow them to read, to learn and to develop a lifelong love of
books."
Teachers like Lisa Leifer, of Country Meadows
Elementary in the Peoria Unified District, write that "worksheets
have been used in place of children's literature to compensate for
the lack of appropriate-level books."
Teachers like Winona Considine of Papago School
in the Creighton District asked for $500 to help create an
after-school reading club for children and families to combat adult
illiteracy and get kids turned on to books.
The stories come from all over Arizona and all
have the same ring. And the fact that those stories are resonating
with a major financial institution is heartwarming.
Of course, who wouldn't melt if you got a thank
you letter like this, from Kathleen Caldwell of Alfred F. Garcia
School in the Murphy District: "My children and I wanted to say
thank you very, very much for the grant money…. You should have been
here to see the looks in their eyes when all of our 500 new books
arrived….
"Thanks to you, my students are so excited to read.
They can't wait to choose books to read and admire. With so many
great choices, the kids just keep reading and reading, which,
naturally, is every teacher's dream come true.
"You very special people have made my students
enjoy reading all over again. The neat thing is that the kids are
excited about learning. You don't know how wonderful it is to see my
struggling students beginning to use books for enjoyment. Their
reading scores have improved.
"Actually, I believe you must know exactly what
it is like for a child to discover learning. I'm sure that is
exactly why your organization has created your wonderful program…. I
can't express to you how, with your simple act of kindness, you
heavenly souls have transformed my classroom into a reading machine.
It's quite obvious that your commitment to children's learning is a
pure dedication from the heart."
As I read that letter, I thought back to when I
first learned to read and how thrilling the world of books was for
me, and still is to this day. But I also remember well-stocked
libraries, and how both our librarian and principal put more and
more sophisticated books into the hands of that girl they saw as a
potential writer. I didn't have to wash cars to get the books I
needed, and I certainly wasn't reduced to Xeroxed worksheets instead
of books as my reading level changed. How could we have gone so far
backward over these years?
At a time when we're holding teachers and
students so accountable to test scores, how in the world can we be
denying them the very basic tools they need to teach reading?
I'm so thankful Wells Fargo has this program, but
I'm also disgusted that it's necessary. Teachers shouldn't have to
go begging for books. Shame on you, Arizona.
Before I tell teachers how they can apply for
these grants, I want to give another heads-up: Every July, the
Friends of the Phoenix Public Library sponsors a "Teachers Sale" at
its warehouse, where a quarter-million books are available at a
price of $1 for hardbacks and 50 cents for paperbacks. Take
advantage of this. I'm told this sale is keeping a lot of school
libraries afloat.
To apply for a grant of up to $500, send requests to Wells Fargo
Teacher's Partner Program, MAC No. 4321013, 150 N. Stone Ave.,
Tucson, AZ 85701, or call 800-711-9590.
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