Sarah Carey (l) and Susan Skowronski PLUMSTED — New Egypt Primary School teachers are creating a wealth of resources.

“With the recent reduction of funding, we as a school and community have to be creative about the ways we supplement funding,” said teacher Sarah Carey. “Grants are a wonderful avenue to explore.”

Recognizing this and determining that in a classroom children’s reading levels vary tremendously, Carey decided to use a $1,000 grant she received from the Teachers’ Insurance Plan of New Jersey.

She and colleague Susan Skowronski, who received $500 for being the Teacher of the Year, took on this challenge.

They put into motion their vision to create a book room that provides access to differentiated materials, which would enable teachers to better meet the needs of all learners in their classrooms.

After making purchases with their limited budget, the teachers realized they needed some help. They called upon their co-workers to donate materials.

“We were overwhelmed by the book donations given by the teachers,” said Skowronski. “It is wonderful to see teachers working collaboratively to make this room happen. This will ultimately benefit our primary school readers.”

The New Egypt Primary School staff and Plumsted School District Superintendent of Schools Mark DeMareo celebrated the grand opening of the New Egypt Primary School Book Room on April 15 with remarks given by Carey and Skowronski.

The speeches were followed by a ribbon cutting ceremony made by Principal Toni Ferry and an all-staff apple juice and strawberry toast to the book room’s success.

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