On the first day of school, all of the students came in smiling and carrying new backpacks and school supplies. All except one student: Lily.

As Ms. Catrino greeted the new students, she noticed that Lily had only a pencil and a folder in her backpack, nothing else. No crayons. No scissors. No notebooks. The little girl looked very upset. 

Lily told Ms. Catrino that her parents had money for only her older sisters’ school supplies. Looking at the other children’s notebooks and crayons, Lily felt left out.”

Ms. Catrino saw how sad she looked and said, “Lily, would you help me pass out the notebooks?” The little girl’s face lit up as she helped the teacher.

Throughout the school year, Lily acted as Ms. Catrino’s extra pair of hands. Instead of feeling left out, she became a helper to Ms. Catrino and a leader to the other students. If the other students had questions about directions for classroom activities, they would ask Lily.

After the first grading period, it became obvious that Lily was a struggling reader. She tried her hardest every day, but still fought to master the art of reading. She and Ms. Catrino practiced reading together, and she would even get dropped off at school early and read to Ms. Catrino while she was setting up for the day.

But Lily never raised her hand to read aloud, and progress was slow. Ms. Catrino began to be concerned that she would not be prepared for the second grade.

One afternoon, Ms. Catrino asked if there was anyone who wanted to read a story to the class. Usually one of the stronger students volunteered.

But this day, Lily’s hand flew up. She burst out, “If I can help the teacher hand things out, and I can help everyone in class with directions, then everyone else can help me read.” So Lily read to the class, while her teacher, friends, and classmates supported her. Lily’s reading confidence was growing.

The days and weeks continued, but Lily was still not reading to grade level. Lily’s parents were called in to school for that dreaded retention meeting. Ms. Catrino had to break the news that if Lily wasn’t reading on level by March, she would have to repeat first grade. Lily’s parents were worried and sad, and so was Ms. Catrino. She felt enormous pressure to develop Lily into a reader. But she and Lily had been trying so hard all year, and nothing seemed to make a dramatic improvement. Both she and Lily were frustrated.

Ms. Catrino tried to motivate Lily by talking to her about all the wonderful things you could feel, imagine, and experience when you enjoyed reading.

“Don’t give up,” said Ms. Catrino. “I’m not giving up on you.”

One morning, Lily said to Ms. Catrino, “I want to be a reader. Do you know why? So I can be a teacher and teach kids like me to read and never give up, ‘cause you never gave up on me.”
By the spring, Lily not only reached, but exceeded, the expectation for second grade reading.

Through determination, and with the support of her teacher and classmates, Lily achieved her goal. It was such a proud moment, that Ms. Catrino could hardly believe Lily was the same girl who was so upset about not having the right supplies for first grade.

Lily was proud of herself too. At the end of the year, she said to Ms. Catrino, “I hope someone takes care of you next year, just like I did. But don’t worry if they don’t. I will be in the second grade hall if you need me to help… or to teach your kids how to read.”