FOUNDATION BUYS KINDERGARTNERS NEW LIBRARY.Byline: Jennifer Hamm Staff Writer GLENDALE - Students in Margaret Poznick's kindergarten class at Cerritos Elementary in Glendale have a tough time making it to the local public library to check out books. And buying their own books is oftentimes out of the question. But thanks to a $1,000 grant from a nonprofit foundation established by Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Mayor Richard Riordan Richard J. Riordan (born May 1, 1930) is a Republican politician from California, U.S. who served as the California Secretary of Education from 2003–2005 and as Mayor of Los Angeles from 1993–2001. Riordan ran for Governor of California unsuccessfully in 2002. , the Glendale teacher will be able to open her own lending library lend·ing library n. A library from which books may be borrowed or rented for a minimal fee. Also called circulating library. Noun 1. with the 150 new books she's just ordered. ``A lot of them are just beginning to read, so they are very excited about it,'' Poznick said of her students. Poznick is among 250 classroom teachers in 40 school districts throughout Los Angeles County to benefit from the Recreational Reading Mini-Grants Program sponsored by The Riordan Foundation, which was started in 1981 by the mayor. The foundation distributed $250,000 in grants this spring to individual teachers in kindergarten through second grade, grants that will buy more than 18,000 books. The grant program is aimed at giving low-income students easy access to books in the classroom so they can take them home. ``This program has the impact of reaching right into the classroom and touching children in a really powerful way and that's by putting books right into their hands,'' said Nike Irvin, president of The Riordan Foundation. ``Our kids today are so hungry for stories and books.'' Other grant recipients included Columbus and Thomas Edison elementary schools Edison Elementary School is the name of many primary schools, with most of them named after Thomas Edison. They include:
The school district serves the city of Glendale, portions of the city of La Cañada and the unincorporated communities of Montrose and La Crescenta. , which received a total of $4,000. In Burbank, George Washington, Joaquin Miller and William McKinley elementary schools elementary school: see school. also received grants totaling $5,000. In the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. , 15 elementary schools received the monetary awards totaling $21,000. To receive the grants, teachers must fill out a one-page application and attach a list of books worth $1,000. If selected, educators receive a check for that amount made out to the school. Poznick said she was quick to fill out the application for the books, which totaled $997.19. Now she can hardly wait for the books to arrive - an asset she said will make her classroom the envy of other elementary teachers. ``We'll have a whole shelf of brand new books so it'll be a lot of fun,'' she said. |
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