Portland Public Schools -- News - Goats get a reading lesson to fund family’s education

Goats get a reading lesson to fund family’s education
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Celebrating the holiday giving spirit with a whimsical twist, first-graders at Rigler Elementary School read books to a pair of goats to help a developing-nation family send its kids to school. With each book read, students raised money that will allow the family to purchase goats, providing a source of income to support its children’s education.

Gaelle Harris, a first-grade teacher at Rigler and owner of the goats (named Sophie and Heidi), worked with hunger relief organization Heifer International to arrange the event. In addition to its charitable purpose, the project supplemented a unit on world cultures and geography.

Other Portland Public Schools spread holiday cheer in more traditional ways. Many collected food donations: At Portland Night High School, staff competed with students to out-collect one another, while parents and students at Forest Park and Boise-Eliot elementary schools collaborated to send gifts and food to 30 families in need. The Duniway Elementary School Student Council raised money to benefit Oregon storm and flood victims, Atkinson Elementary School students sang songs to Courtyard Plaza retirees, and a “Giving Tree Store” at Woodmere Elementary School provided students with coats, board games and gifts.

But only at Rigler were there goats. And although Sophie and Heidi remain illiterate, Harris says the project was a success. She notes that any goat offspring are required to be given to other families in the village: “It’s the gift that keeps on giving, and eventually the whole village benefits.”

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