Firemen in Poughkeepsie Donate Dictionaries to Third Graders

 

In memory of a high school student who passed away in March, the Poughkeepsie fire department is donating over 400 dictionaries to every third grade student in the Poughkeepsie school district.

High school senior Shequila Brown was killed in a hit and run accident on March 13. “We’re very proud to dedicate these dictionaries in memory of your daughter,” said Chris Petsas, president of the Firemans Association, to Brown’s mother, Janice Shell.

The dictionary donations were part of a fire awareness assembly that honored students who wrote essays on fire safety. The dictionaries were chosen to help students advance in reading, spelling and vocabulary skills.

“They have to be able to have those key principles to be successful,” said Ralph Coates, president of the Board of Education. “Any type of supplemental resource the district can receive will be very beneficial.”

The dictionaries were purchased from a non-profit organization called the Dictionary Project. This was the school districts third year participating in the program. 

The full story about the dictionary donation honoring Shequila Brown can be found online at the Poughkeepsie Journal.