Molina High School will install a coffee bar in its library and media center thanks to a $100,000 grant from retail giant Target. A courtyard also will be added to the school’s entrance, for performance art, outdoor teaching and socializing.
Both projects are expected to be completed in August. They are expected to cost $50,000, and Molina teachers will submit proposals on how to spend the remainder.
Librarian Hazel Peterson and program development specialist Cathy Pinnell, who have worked at Molina since it opened in 1997, applied for the grant. “The Ellen DeGeneres Show ” invited viewers to submit compelling stories about schools that deserved the Target grant. Target selected 48 schools, including Molina and two other Texas high schools.
Adding cafes to school libraries is becoming a trend since studies have found students are more likely to frequent coffee shops than libraries to study and use the Internet.
