Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Literacy coach awarded $2,000 grant for readers

The Clark County Community Foundation has awarded a grant in the amount of $2,000 to Carla Jester, literacy coach at Gurdon Primary School.

The grant will be used toward purchasing literacy materials.

The Clark County Community Foundation is an Affiliate of the Arkansas Community Foundation, Inc.

Jester said she wrote the grant in January to buy books and incentives to encourage kids to love to read and write. The foundation awarded the grant in March, Jester said.

Jester, who is in her second year as the literacy coach for the district, has taught in the Gurdon School District for 15 years.

Her job as a literacy coach includes working with teachers and students in the classroom on reading and literacy.

The Clark County Community Foundation takes private endowments and turns them into grants that help community members who have groups or organizations that affect the largest number of people.

We take a special interest in turning our endowments to help members of the county, said Blake Bell, board member of the foundation. Students, of course, are an important part of our county.

Bell said the foundation wants to see the money put to the most use, and found it appropriate to grant the money toward Jesters literacy program.