American Lakes School has been awarded a Reading 3.0 Initiative grant of $26,950 by the Sacramento Region Community Foundation, Christine Smith of the Natomas Unified School District, said today.
According to Smith, a Director of School Leadership and Support for the school district, the grant will be used to purchase a Chromebook student computer mobile lab and software to support increasing literacy among kindergarten through third-graders.
“The new equipment will allow us to provide targeted instruction that adapts to each child’s learning level and meets the needs of all students, including advanced learners, English learners and children struggling with comprehension,” Smith said. “Teachers will receive data showing areas of strengths and weaknesses, along with suggested strategies for instruction.”
American Lakes is located in Sacramento a few miles north of the Capitol and serves students in kindergarten through sixth grades as one of 13 district-operated campuses in the Natomas Unified School District. It is a diverse campus in which about nine of every 10 students are ethnic minorities, with Hispanics comprising nearly 50 percent of the student body. Computers purchased from the new grant will provide reading instruction, giving students in very early grades a literacy boost that can serve them throughout their academic life.
Principal Suzen Holtemann said that it is critical for students, at very young ages, to have a solid foundation in reading. “We need to make sure all students have those skills early on,” she said.
“Research has shown that reading at proficiency by the 3rd grade is an important benchmark of future academic and economic success in life. In partnership with the RCA Community Fund, The Reading 3.0 Initiative hopes to help students reach this goal over the next three years through the effective application of technology in the classroom,” said Priscilla Enriquez, Chief Giving Officer at Sacramento Region Community Foundation.
The Sacramento Region Community Foundation is an advocate for quality of life, dedicated to assisting people who care with charitable causes. An effective steward of the region’s charitable assets since 1983, the Foundation’s mission is to serve as a leader and trusted partner in expanding philanthropy and enhancing its impact in our community.
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