CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — The Corpus Christi Independent School District provides resources to the bilingual and monolingual students. It is important for them to provide the right resources to help their students excel.
According to CCISD, about 1,400 students in primary school are bilingual and there is about 500 who only speak Spanish.
Over at Zavala Elementary School there is a total of 58 monolingual students and 46 billingual students.
Zavala is one of the many schools making sure to meet state standards by having more bilingual books on there shelves than required.
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission requires each campus library to have 18 books both in print or digital per student.
On the Zavala campus alone, 3,362 books are available for its 104 bilingual and monolingual students.
"Its not about having the most books its about having the best books," Doctor Lauren Smith, library specialist with CCISD said.
Experiencing the excitement of the kids is rewarding and beneficial to both teachers and the students she added.
“It’s incredibly important for our libraries to have books that represent the entire population," Smith said. "Our librarians are constantly working on analyzing their collections through the data points that we have to make sure that we have books available that the students are able to read in a preferred language and also are of interest to them."
Mayela Bayder, a bilingual teacher of 16 years, said working with these students could be at times challenging but very rewarding.
She herself was once a students who entered a classroom where English was the predominant language. She said that that she will always remember her teacher.
"Creating a safe haven for my students, building strong relationships makes them feel welcome and understood," Bayder said. "I incorporate bilingual books, visuals and a rich curriculum in English and Spanish to help with second language acquisition.”
"My students loved the fact that I would read with them in both languages and they enjoyed being able to teach me words as I would come to a word and not know the meaning," Smith said.
She said learning goes both ways.
"If you can be warm and welcoming, everybody can learn to communicate in a great environment," Smith added.
Bayder added that incorporating bilingual books makes learning fun and engaging.It promotes biliteracy,it helps students read two languages.
"It also connects students to different cultures and it also helps the students learn a second language at a faster rate Bayder said.
Zavala Elementary has been selected to receive a grant for $125,000 to help redesign its library. They will also be given $10,000 to spend toward improving the collection.
