Hood River County Education Foundation

With the help of the HRCEF Impact Teaching Grant the Mid Valley Elementary bilingual program at second grade was able to give Spanish literacy equal footing to English literacy in our classroom. We now have access to quality literature in Spanish that engages and motivates students to read. … Motivation to read engaging and fun books in Spanish is much higher than last year simply do to access.

Environmental Communication Boards were installed at seven Hood River County School District playgrounds to help create accessible and inclusive communication opportunities for all students within our community. These communication boards are intended to assist students of all ability levels with expressing their thoughts and feelings, creating and maintaining meaningful relationships, and making connections with their peers while participating in essential life experiences learned through outdoor play.

"Air, like food, water, and shelter, is critical for survival, and yet we rarely think about it due to its "invisible" nature. Additionally, unlike the other essential items mentioned above, we can't really "pick and choose" which air we breathe. It impacts us all. As such, studying air quality is a fantastic lens through which we can engage students in not only learning about the air, but also chemistry, earth and space science, and how we can be engaged citizens."