Becoming Lifelong Readers

I am sooooo excited. I got an email a few weeks ago from the TFA folks about a matching grant that's being offered by the Koret Foundation for teacher supplies.
I submitted a proposal to build my classroom library, which is pretty good but is missing some books for lower-level readers and also more books by and about minorities. i don't have a single white student, so i like to have some books to cater to my audience.
also, there are a lot of what is called high interest/low level books available for students. that means that my 8th graders who read at a 4th or 5th or 6th grade level can read books that they understand on topics that are interesting to them.

the grant proposal is for $524. that includes all of the fees that DonorsChoose.org charges for shipping, etc. It's for 50 books. if you would like to know what the books are, there is a PDF cost report on the proposal. in addition to my knowledge about literature and my students, i also used various professional booklists and advice from our school librarian to select the books. i mention this in case any of you are looking to spend a small amount of money on supporting education. the proposal is already half funded through the Koret Foundation, so there is $262 left to be funded before july 1, 2008. it won't take much to get the books for my kids--and the great thing is, there will be 90 students using the books this year and many more in the future.

the link is http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=123361
if you are considering giving, thank you in advance. the sooner i get the books, the sooner that my students can enjoy them. my students are working to grow their reading levels 1.5 years in this one school year, so that they won't be so far behind in the future. help them "grow their brains"! :-)