Raritan NJ
9-16-2023 3:57pm

BR Middle School teacher wins grant for books: Meet Megan Alloway

Of course, Megan Alloway, who revealed that “she is a huge reader,” pored over a publication with the title “Book Love.” And because Ms. Alloway read that book, 100 new books arrived in time this school year for her to share with her 7th-grade students at the Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School.Ms. Alloway, who teaches English Language Arts at the Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School,was the recipient of one of the 65 grants that the Book Love Foundation has awarded to teachers throughout the United States.

According to its website, the Book Love Foundation is a non-profit organization that is run by volunteers. The summary stated that every dollar we raise funds classroom libraries for teachers just like you! Since inception, we have raised over $1M to support over 400 K-12 classroom teachers across North America.

Penny Kittle is the author of “Book Love” and is also the president of the foundation of that same name that she helped launch in 2012.  Ms. Alloway explained her attraction to the “Book Love.” “Penny Kittle wrote the book about independent reading that I strongly believe in,” Ms. Alloway said. “Her book was about teaching the preparation of independent reading. I use a lot of her recommendations in my class.”

But meanwhile, Ms. Alloway discovered that the Book Love Foundation annually awarded

grants. “I applied for a grant a year ago but did not receive one,” she revealed. But she remained determined. “I applied again this past year and I got it,” she said. Thanks to the $1,000 grant, the 100 books have made their way into her classroom at the Middle School where her students gave their seal of approval. 

“I was so excited to see a lot of our students open a book and they smelled them because they felt their value and knew that they were beautiful new books to read,'' she said.Ms. Alloway expressed that she encourages her students to not only read during school day, but when they are at home, too.

And to further promote reading day and night, this veteran educator–--she has been a teacher for 22 years, spending the last six at the Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School after tenures in South Orange and Boston--- answered the call to provide what her students desired.

“I saw last year when a lot of our students were into graphic novels so I ordered more of them,” she said. Included in her grant is the opportunity for her to join a monthly Zoom meeting with other teachers who have secured grants as well as Book Love Foundation officials.

“It is a professional development session and I get to connect with other teachers,’’ she said. She was ecstatic when the Book Love Foundation contacted her with the news since it boosted her efforts to promote reading. “I was so thrilled when I got the grant,” Ms. Alloway said. “It gave me the opportunity to put more books in more hands.”

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