Three schools serving students in need receive special recognition for promoting literacy

Sonia M. Sotomayor Early College High School in Pharr, Texas, will receive the 2016 Estela and Raúl Mora Award, an honor given by award-winning children's author Pat Mora and her sister in partnership with First Book, the nonprofit social enterprise that has distributed more than 150 million books to children in need. This year, the award recognized schools that held literacy activities during the month of April in celebration of Children's Day, Book Day; also known as El día de los niños, El día de los libros; or Día. Founded by Mora in 1996, Día is a nationally recognized initiative that emphasizes the importance of literacy for all children, from all backgrounds, and creatively links them to the gift of reading all year round to spark a lifelong love of reading, or, as Mora calls it, "bookjoy."

Sonia M. Sotomayor Early College High School, a special purpose program committed to teen mothers' success, earned this year's top honor for hosting a full week of family-oriented bilingual and multicultural activities. The week focused on preparing teen mothers for success in motherhood, literacy for children, culturally diverse learning resources, and the role of mothers in children's early cognitive and literacy development. Activities provided students with research-based methods of introducing their children to reading and each student received a free children's book.

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