Kindergarteners and first-graders who don't pass Kentucky's new end-of-year reading screener can now be held back. For Boone County families whose children are still learning English, the law raises the stakes even higher.

Theresa Cruz, founder and CEO of Florence-based nonprofit FIESTA, heard the worry from parents firsthand and built something to help: a free, weekly tutoring program pairing English-learning students in kindergarten through third grade with Spanish-speaking high school volunteers from Notre Dame Academy in Park Hills.

The program launched before end-of-year testing and has continued running through the summer, according to a LINK nky report published August 3. With Boone County Schools starting classes August 19, the sessions give families one more tool before the school year begins.

How it works

At a recent session, a grinning soon-to-be second-grader fished through a lasagna tray filled with cardboard squares etched with words. He and another English-learning student practiced reading and sounding out words alongside two Notre Dame Academy Spanish students.

Cruz said she called Sister Maria Francine Stacy, a Notre Dame Academy Spanish teacher and regular FIESTA volunteer, after learning how House Bill 240 would affect English learners. The 2025 law requires a universal screener in the final 14 instructional days of the school year; students who don't meet literacy benchmarks may be retained.

"I said 'OK girls, we're going out there,'" Stacy told LINK nky, describing her response when Cruz explained what families were facing.

Rising sophomores and juniors from Notre Dame Academy now fill the FIESTA classroom alongside rising first- and second-graders each week. Frances Maier, a Notre Dame junior who also tutors adults in English at the Kenton County Library's Covington Branch, said the work matters because many of these families are struggling and she wants to help them feel welcome.

One of the first parents to enroll her sons, a mother of rising second- and third-graders at Kenton County Schools, said she has already seen improvement. She told LINK nky in Spanish that she is grateful because extra classes are expensive, and this one is free.

Building community across languages

Cruz said the program has grown into something bigger than phonics drills. It brings together people who are completely different and has them working toward the same goal, she said.

Stacy agreed. She said her Notre Dame students rarely see the exchange as one-directional, and that the experience opens them up both linguistically and to the broader human experience.

The program is open to all interested students and volunteers, not just K-3 learners or Notre Dame students. Families can contact FIESTA at (859) 534-0672 or visit fiestanky.org for scheduling details.

Upcoming community events

  • National Night Out: Tuesday, August 4, 5-7 p.m., Florence Government Center, 8100 Ewing Blvd. Free dinner, police and fire/EMS displays.
  • Back-to-School Bash: Monday, August 3 through Friday, August 7, England Idlewild Park. Ages 6-12, $15 per child, registration required.
  • Boone County Parks Movie Night: Friday, August 21, Boone Woods Park Amphitheater.
  • Boone Woods Arts & Craft Show: Sunday, August 23, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Boone Woods Park.
  • Senior Picnic: Wednesday, September 9, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Boone County Fairgrounds. Tickets $6.