September 12, 2017

The Missouri Retired Teachers Foundation recently presented Dressel Elementary School fifth grade teacher Sarah Valter with a $500 grant to purchase 50 nonfiction books for her classroom library. As part of her Classroom Book-a-Day initiative, Valter will use her new library to read aloud one high quality nonfiction text to her students each week. Classroom Book-a-Day focuses on allocating time to read aloud a picture book each day during the school year.

“Recognizing that read aloud experiences in elementary lean heavily toward fiction, my project will incorporate nonfiction texts regularly to encourage students to diversify their reading habits and to support concepts taught in science and social studies,” she said.

The Missouri Retired Teachers Foundation awarded 84 grants this year throughout Missouri, including six in the St. Louis region.