As the sun set over Pescadero on a recent Tuesday, a dozen joyful children careened from the playground into the multi-purpose room at Pescadero Elementary School, where Puente holds its Homework Club. As they settled themselves on a carpet, two 10-year-olds opened a Dr. Seuss book and began to read aloud. “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish,” intoned Andrea Lopez. She turned the book around to show the illustration to the group sitting at her feet before handing the book to her friend Mariela Cruz, who read the next page aloud and passed it back. The younger children fidgeted but listened, laughing over some of the pictures and the wordplay in the book. The adults listened too. It was a classic Puente moment: learning and empowerment, combined. The girls read effortlessly and gracefully, and one child in particular seemed transfixed, moving closer so she could see the illustrations. Perla Hernandez is a 6-year-old kindergartener, and just like all of the regular attenders of Homework Club, has improved her reading skills. Last fall, Perla and her older sister Mairol started attending Puente’s newly revitalized Homework Club from 7-9 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The program gives one-on-one attention to students in preschool through eighth grade while their parents are next door in Puente’s classrooms, taking English as Second Language classes. It is meant to complement … Continue reading The happiest reader in Homework Club