When I opened my email this summer and saw that Sigma Tau Delta was offering a Classroom Library Grant to pre-school through twelfth-grade teachers, I knew I had to apply. Going into my second year of teaching high school ESL students, one of the biggest areas of growth in my practice was expanding literacy. In my first year of teaching, I realized how inequitable learning English was at the high school level. It can already be discouraging as a secondary English language learner to know that your reading level is below your peers; it’s even more discouraging when you go to the library and find your only accessible reading options are books made for elementary school-aged children.
Throughout my first year of teaching, I acquired a handful of books from colleagues and mentors—mostly graphic novels. While graphic novels can be a fantastic starting point for English language learners (ELLs), they can make the transition to grade-level academic text feel jarring if that is the only equitable option in the classroom. Our ELLs need the option to read novels like their peers, which is where the Sigma Tau Delta Classroom Library Grant came in.
With the grant, I added a significant number of “Hi-Low” books to my classroom library. Hi-Low, or High Interest/Low Reading level books, are written at a lower reading level and may have shorter sentences and more basic vocabulary. However, they also include high-interest themes, more suitable for mature students. This allows ELLs to expand their literacy in a grade-level novel, while also building their confidence through an equitable option. High school ESL students already deal with the difficulty of language acquisition in a difficult learning environment. These books have allowed my students to build confidence in their English proficiency, while also building a love of literacy.
To encourage literacy, I am always transparent with my students on how many books I have read this month. Whether it is one book or six, I share my love of reading with them to demonstrate that reading can be for pleasure, not just for academic purposes. Using the new Hi-Lows in my library, students are now tracking their book counts. Because they are often a lot shorter than typical novels, students feel encouraged when they finish a book. They feel like it is an accomplishment (it is!) and want to share it.
Further, with the Sigma Tau Delta Classroom Library Grant, I added an array of diverse book options to my classroom. Of the 1,100 students served at my school, 52.7 % are Hispanic/Latino and 41.2 % are Black. Students deserve to see book options they can relate to, through main characters, themes, and overall content. Hosting diverse books in the classroom does not just foster a love for learning a new language, but for literacy development in general. In a world where our most vulnerable students are seeing their identities attacked on a national level, one area we can easily and simply provide safety and comfort is in a book.
I’m incredibly thankful for the opportunity that Sigma Tau Delta gave me to support my secondary ELLs. Now, when students see the bright LED sign in the back of my classroom that reads “Cool Kids Read Books,” they too can feel cool.
Jaylee Hiersche
Classroom Library Grant Recipient, 2025
Madison Park Technical Vocational High School
Boston Public Schools, MA
Sigma Tau Delta Classroom Library Grants
Sigma Tau Delta’s Classroom Library Grants are designed to enhance the Society’s goals of
- promoting interest in literature and language in the surrounding communities;
- fostering all aspects of the discipline of English, including literature, language, and writing; and
- serving society by fostering literacy.
The Classroom Library Grants are also intended to support our members who have entered the field of teaching and need material support to help achieve these goals through their work in the classroom by providing their students with a library in their own classrooms, especially where access to school or public libraries or to books in the home may be limited.
The Society will award up to five grants of $400 each per cycle to help student and alumni members of Sigma Tau Delta who are teachers of record in pre-school through twelfth-grade classrooms build a classroom library for their students. Applicants need not be recent college graduates or new teachers.
Criteria For Selection
In choosing recipients, evaluators will consider the following criteria:
- lack of economic and geographic access to books at your school, or another demonstrated need;
- the explanation of how the classroom library envisioned will support your goals in alignment with the Society’s goals; and
- supervisory endorsement of your classroom library project.
Deadline and Dates
Applications will be accepted through the AwardSpring platform June 22 through July 13, 2026, 4:00 p.m. CT.
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