Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 306 MAIROL, JESSICA, AND PERLA LEARN TO LOVE READING AND MATH Like many local children who grow up in monolingual Spanish-speaking households, Mairol Hernández, her sister Perla Hernández, and their friend Jessica García have all struggled with reading in English. They found patient mentors at Puente’s Homework Club, a partnership with the La Honda- Pescadero Unified School District. Students do math homework on borrowed laptops (like many children on the South Coast, they do not have a computer or Internet service at home), do art projects, conduct science projects, and read with tutors. Mairol, 12, says her grades were slipping before she came to Homework Club. “Here there are people around who can be supportive of you. My grades are higher now, and I’m proud of it. It got me to focus more in class, and do my homework,” she says. Mairol’s little sister, Perla, was so behind in language skills she was afraid to speak English. Now the chatty 7-year-old loves books. “It’s fun. You can learn more. It can be funny, it can be sad, it can be exciting,” she says. “I have my own bookshelf at home,” boasts Jessica, 8. “My favorite book is still ‘The Cat in the Hat.’” 56 elementary school students received math and reading support twice a week. 56 alumnos de primaria recibieron apoyo en matemáticas y lectura, dos veces a la semana.