Reading is one of the cornerstones of early childhood education, inspiring imagination and giving students a bigger understanding of the world. At Ocean View Elementary in Arroyo Grande, one Second Grade class found reading could be transformational in many ways, thanks to a SESLOC Education Grant.
In August 2024, Darlene Upham applied for an Education Grant to replace older textbooks in her classroom. When reviewing the reading material, she found that the literature not only included antiquated terminology but also lacked materials on current world events and discoveries. Her grant application requested a subscription to Scholastic News, providing weekly content to her classroom covering current and historical events, social emotional topics, and scientific discoveries.
Building successful reading skills requires young minds to have background knowledge, a wide vocabulary and decoding skills. The literature from Scholastic News provides those threads, augmented with multimedia elements to keep the lessons going outside of the classroom. Immediately, reading interest increased among her students with new nonfiction content from Scholastic News.
To show their appreciation, her students created a “Thank You” banner for the team at the SESLOC Arroyo Grande branch for helping them expand their horizons through the Educational Grant.
“Thank you SESLOC for the educational grant!” said Darlene. “My students have enjoyed learning all about science and social studies through their Scholastic News subscription.”
Some of the additional grants recently awarded to local classrooms include:
- Santa Lucia School: Eight watercolor palettes to increase student’s creative expression during science field studies and increasing reading comprehension through watercolor journals.
- Baywood Elementary School: Three Moblio kits for a Transitional Kindergarten class to improve teamwork, fine motor skills and creativity.
- Mission College Preparatory High School: Supplies including gardening tools, vegetable seeds, water jugs and fertilizer to construct an FFA community garden.
SESLOC Education Grants are available to local K-12 educators throughout our footprint in amounts up to $500. Since launching the program in 2013, we’ve given back over $200,000 in grants to educators across the Central Coast. To learn more about the program or to download an application, visit our website.