Reading & Literacy

At Puerto Rican School, Lifting Spirits With Read-Aloud Event

By Andrew Ujifusa — October 10, 2017 2 min read
Students participate in "From Reading to Hope" activities at Maria Vasquez de Umpierre School in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. School principal Jessica Hernandez and others organized the event to help students reorient themselves in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Bayamon, Puerto Rico

Alianey Arana, 13, normally doesn’t attend Maria Vasquez de Umpierre School here. But a great deal is abnormal about her life since Hurricane Maria, and when the school got word out that it was hosting an event called “From Reading to Hope” earlier this week, she wanted to attend.

“It feels different,” said Arana, who doesn’t have any friends at the school, but is still upbeat. “I feel happy because I can see everybody’s OK.”

The event on Monday featured a read-aloud activity for about 75 school-age children and their parents, as well as other physical and artistic activities structured “in order to create a growth mindset” after the disaster, said Jessica Hernandez, the K-8 school’s principal. Teachers trained for the event, including in some crisis-intervention techniques.

See Also: In Puerto Rico, a Daunting Effort to Reopen Schools, Headed by a Determined Leader

“The school is the essence of what is the school community, and the extended community,” Hernandez said. “And it should be ... where the community can come together and deal with these issues.”

Puerto Rican actress Mariana Quiles read The Day the Dog Said “¡Quiquiriqui!” (the last word is the Spanish version of a rooster’s crow) to children of various ages at Maria Vasquez de Umpierre. In the story, other animals pulled switcheroos: After a big storm, a cow, for example, starts quacking like a duck.

Carefully Chosen

The organizers didn’t choose this story haphazardly.

“The story is very elementary,” said Marisa Gonzalez, an English coach at the school who also works for Scholastic, Inc., which helped to organize the event. “But when you look at the essence of the story, the animals go through something like a hurricane.”

Hernandez said the children bring different experiences concerning the storm to school with them. Still, she hopes events like this prepare students a little bit for when Maria Vasquez de Umpierre reopens, ideally on Oct. 23.

Aliancy Arana, 13, passes by the flag of Puerto Rico at the read-aloud event at Maria Vasquez de Umpierre School in Bayamon.

But the “From Reading to Hope” activities won’t erase the memories of the storm for Alianey, who recalled that the hurricane “was scary because of the rain. ... It was terrifying.” One structure attached to her house blew away, but otherwise her home remained intact, and she has the basic supplies she needs for living.

And when it comes to what Alianey misses most about school, the list she ticks off seems prosaic until you factor in Hurricane Maria: “Talking with my friends, seeing my teachers, going to class.”

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Whitepaper
Middle School Improves Critical Foundational Reading Skills
Students at Roosevelt Creative Corridor Business Academy who used WordFlight became more confident readers—and improved their reading scores.
Content provided by WordFlight
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Whitepaper
The Science of Reading: Build Independence for Life
Discover teaching strategies to enhance literacy for unique learners.
Content provided by n2y
Reading & Literacy What the Research Says There's a Cost to Holding Back Struggling Readers. See How Much
A new study calculates the cost to students and districts of "read by grade 3" policies.
3 min read
Children reading books, bookcase behind them
iStock/Getty
Reading & Literacy Applying the 'Science of Reading': 3 State Leaders on Putting Policy Into Practice
Officials discussed how their states have attempted a multifaceted approach to reading improvement.
4 min read
Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education, speaks during a presentation of the proposed state spending plan during an announcement in Indianapolis on Jan. 4, 2023.
Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner speaks about a proposed state spending plan on Jan. 4, 2023, in Indianapolis. Indiana tracks students' 3rd grade reading progress and the tools and supports districts are deploying.
Michael Conroy/AP