It’s the last month of the 2024-2025 school year, and most students are daydreaming about the fast approaching summer break. In Ms. Bowes’ classroom at Julia de Burgos Elementary, however, four students sit with rapt attention as their classroom literary assistant Tassie Rivera reads from The Octopus Escapes by Maile Meloy.

As Rivera narrates the octopus’ encounter with a new object, one kindergartener points to the illustration and identifies the item: “Guante!”

Rivera nods affirmatively before asking, “How do you say that in English?”

When the student struggles to answer, a classmate helps out: “Glove!”

By the time the story concludes, the initial student gains the courage to switch from Spanish to English. He happily declares, “I like that story.”

As a new school year gets underw

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