Faculty, students, trustees and special guests gathered at Blackshear Elementary Fine Arts Academy on May 18 as the school received a grant from the .
Blackshear was one of six ÁùºÏ±¦µä ISD schools to receive grants that totaled $37,000.
The former first lady—who once served ÁùºÏ±¦µä's students as a librarian at Dawson Elementary School—was on hand to talk about the importance of reading.
"This is a happy day for me to be here at ÁùºÏ±¦µä," Bush said. "This is where my girls went to high school. It's fun to be in this school district that means so much to me."
Six schools in ÁùºÏ±¦µä ISD will receive grants up to $7,000 each, as part of more than $820,000 in grants being awarded to 123 schools in 35 states.
Other ÁùºÏ±¦µä schools to earn grants were Uphaus Early Childhood Center, Dobie Pre-Kindergarten Center, Reilly Elementary School, Palm Elementary School and Travis High School.
Blackshear's librarian, Roger Grape, wrote the grant proposal to the foundation after taking part in a grant-writing workshop in the fall.
"We realized Blackshear had a need for more books on the arts to go along with [our] fine arts program," Grape said. "Books nowadays are between $20–$35, but e-books are accessible via any Internet-based device. We constantly have to be looking for grant opportunities to keep our library relevant."