For a long time, Room 606 has been left unoccupied, except for occasionally being used as a driver’s ed classroom. Mrs. Smith and Profesora Pishek take their post in front of the 606 door to greet students in the morning and during passing times. It was during a time like this that a simple hallway conversation inspired the idea to convert the room behind them into a library filled with Spanish books for their students.

In 2019 Smith made this idea into a reality when she applied for a grant worth $950 from the Huron Valley Educational Foundation (HVEF).

Smith read numerous blogs by Spanish teachers from other schools who have Spanish libraries for their students and came to the conclusion with Pishek that this was a necessity for their department. She ordered a lot of books to add to the collection from her and Pishek’s classroom collections.

A benefit is that most of these books are written by Spanish teachers for kids at the level Smith and Pishek teach. “Extensive research has proven that the more you read, the more your vocabulary grows,” Pishek says, “The greatest thing is that we are already seeing students advance in their writing and using words that aren’t from an assigned vocabulary list, which is really exciting.”

Not only is this room filled with a wide variety of books, alternative seating options are also offered to create a comfortable space that students can enjoy. From colorful carpets, to cozy chairs, to cushions on the floor, the new library is full of seating options where students can be comfortable and immerse themselves in a book.

Spanish 5 student Grace Carey describes the library’s environment as that of “any other library: quiet and welcoming. I really like the comfortable space that they’ve created there.”

In addition to vocabulary expansion and comfortable seating, the library will also serve to benefit standardized test scores as students learn to determine words’ meaning in contexts. “I am very excited about this library!” Smith said excitedly. “It is amazing to be able to offer and expand an opportunity like this to more students.” Pishek described it as a “Dream come true!” with the same level of enthusiasm.

It is amazing to see the benefits of the recent grants to MHS coming through and the wide variety of opportunities available to students from it- the Spanish library being one of them.