Minden Elementary School first and second grade students are published authors through the Young Author program, created by retired Minden Elementary School teacher Melinda Neilander.
Hailey Sebahar | Douglas County School District
Piñon Hills Elementary School first- and second-grade students conducted book signings on Thursday, becoming the first batch of newly published authors to display their work through June 4.
Students wrote and illustrated books with the help of their teachers, retired Minden Elementary School teacher Melinda Neilander, and volunteers through the Young Authors program created by Neilander.
With the help of volunteers, Neilander works with students to write, revise, edit, illustrate, and “publish” their own books.
“It’s a lot of fun and I’ve received tons of comments like, “I didn’t used to like to write, but now I do. Will you come back all the time now,’ so that’s very rewarding,” said Neilander.
The books are blanks Neilander buys from Amazon that the kids write in, illustrate, and write a brief description about the author. When the books are finished, Neilander takes them to R&S Optimum Offset print shop in Minden where they scan them and make copies.
“They have been so wonderful,” said Neilander. “They also said they enjoy reading them.”
The copies are then sold to family and friends during a book signing event and the proceeds benefit the program and the Educational Scholarship Memorial Establishment Foundation.
“It’s so cute, the kids get all dressed up in professional attire and present their books,” said Neilander. “I tell them, they’re famous now and their books are worth a lot, now that they’re signed. It always makes them so proud.”
Neilander created the foundation after she retired in 2022, and she soon realized she missed working with kids. Named after her grandchild, Neilander said her she hopes to support local students who want to become teachers. Neilander said the foundation was able to give two $2,500 scholarships to two Douglas High School students in 2024.
The Young Authors program is an extension of the foundation.
The first Young Authors program was established in 2023 by Minden Elementary School teacher Stacia Almeida’s first-grade class and has grown to first and second grade students in all Douglas County Elementary schools.
“I go in the fall and we brainstorm and give a lesson,” said Neilander. “The kids are free to write whatever they want to write; fiction stories, nonfiction, some created their own super heroes, dinosaurs, and more.”
Neilander said the students do most of the writing in their classroom and then she, with the help of volunteers, will go into classrooms at least once a month to provide feedback, tips, grammar and spelling.
“They are getting so much more education,” said Neilander. “Not only do they receive feedback from their teachers, but they have volunteers, many of which are retired teachers, and more eyes and ideas looking at their work.”
Director of Marketing & Communications Hailey Sebahar visited Minden Elementary School on May 8 as first- and second-grade students were finishing up the “About the Author” section on the back cover.
“(Melinda) breaks the project into manageable steps- story planning, grammar, organizing pages, illustrations and more,” said Sebahar. “It’s a lot for this age group, but spread out over time, it becomes something they can really tackle and feel accomplished about.”
Neilander said the program runs primarily on volunteers.
“I would like to extend the program and do more with it, but help is needed,” said Neilander. “Volunteers are what makes the program what it is.”
Neilander said it doesn’t take much to be a Young Author volunteer.
“You don’t have to be a teacher,” said Neilander. “We welcome anyone who wants to be a part of the program. The great thing is it’s only about an hour once a month and volunteers can sign up for when it works for them.”
Volunteers have to be cleared and fingerprinted.
“It’s been so rewarding and fun,” said Neilander. “I love working with the kids and the best part is last day when they share what they have accomplished, and the best part is their reactions when they see what they created.”
Visit the https://sites.google.com/view/esme-young-authors/home?authuser=0 for more information. Visit https://www.dcsd.net/connect/volunteers to become an approved volunteer for the Douglas County School District.