St. John Lutheran School Teacher Uses Grant Funding for Mentor Text Project

The program focuses on fostering a love of reading.

Photo provided.

(Aurora, Ind.) - St. John Lutheran School teacher Sarah Sharp was awarded a grant last August for her Mentor Text Project. 

Since being awarded the 2024-25 Educator Grant through the Dearborn County Retired Teachers Foundation, Sharp has implemented the mentor Text Project with her 7th and 8th grade students. 

The funding allowed Sharp to purchase complete Mentor Text packages from Smekens Literacy Store to use in her classroom, in addition to providing mentoring materials for 1st through 4th grade teachers. 

The goal of the project is to foster an atmosphere of love for reading and a solid grounding in language skills through one-on-one mentoring. Once a month, Sharp's 7th and 8th grade students read engaging stories to the 1st grade class followed by time spent identifying various mechanics found within the story.

So far, her 7th and 8th graders have reinforced literary building blocks such as sentence structures, punctuation, word choice, and parts of speech.

“They anticipate mentoring through the rest of this year and they’re hoping this becomes a tradition in their school. Below are some pictures of our activities along with statements from both our middle and elementary students. Thank you for your support and for awarding me the funding for this great project,” said Sharp. 

 

 

More from Local News

Events

UPDATE: First Responders Rescue Juvenile from Ohio River

The incident occurred at Lesko Park on Monday morning.

PHOTOS: Trojan Field Improvements Ready for Fall Sports Season

The gates at Trojan Field will be open Aug. 21 for the start of the high school football season

East Central Girls Basketball to Play at Well-Respected Sneakers for Santa Event

The one-day event features some of the top programs in the state.

2026 Team Preview: East Central Returns to Class 4A as Top-Ranked Team

The Trojans will host Lawrenceburg to kick off the season on Friday, August 21.

Batesville Announces New Varsity Baseball Head Coach

A familiar face takes over the program

On Air

Eagle Country 99.3 playing
Brooks & Dunn - Little Miss Honky Tonk

Terri Clark Poor, Poor Pitiful Me 10:42
Brad Paisley River Bank 10:38
Thompson Square Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not? 10:35
Dixie Chicks If I Fall You're Going Down With Me 10:32