Amber Simmons

“Data has shown that SEL has had overwhelmingly positive effects on the academic achievement of English learners (ELs) and students who have Emotional and Behavioral Difficulty challenges. ELs and special education students often experience high anxiety and low self-confidence. In order to address the social and emotional needs of this demographic while also supporting ways to close the literacy achievement gap between this demographic and the rest of the school, this project has a four-pronged plan: 1. An English to speakers of other languages bilingual classroom library to ensure students have access to literature in their native tongue to help maintain the connection to their culture. 2. 'Book Gift' program at the end of each semester for resource English Language Arts classrooms to promote pleasure reading for struggling readers and at-risk students. 3. Enlarged bilingual section on the Gwinnett County BookMobile. 4. Diverse, inclusive and bilingual 'little free libraries'.”