Ms. Aguilar’s Classroom Library

"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education." Martin Luther King, Jr.


In order to combat the inequalities in the education system, Teach for America places their corps members in low-income schools across the country. I have been given the opportunity to serve as a 9th grade intensive reading teacher for more than 100 students at Miami Northwestern Senior High. Miami Northwestern is considered a title-1 school by the Department of Education, which means that a high percentage of students come from families with incomes below the poverty line.

Disadvantaged students in the first grade have a vocabulary that is approximately half that of an advantaged student (2,900 and 5,800 respectively). Children are exposed to magical, unknown worlds through the gift of reading. I want to ensure that my students at Northwestern have the opportunity to experience the joy of reading. As a result, I have chosen to initiate a classroom library of books of all genres.

On behalf of my students, I invite you to make a gift of your choice for our classroom library. As a recent college graduate and first year teacher, it will be difficult to reach my goal without support from my friends and family. If you would like to donate any gently used books from your own collection, that would be wonderful as well! Any help is greatly appreciated.