This past Saturday, Miami-Dade Superintendent of Schools Alberto M. Carvalho and Gulliver Head of Schools Frank Steel personally visited Holmes Elementary to show their support for the Baby Bulls Academy Saturday School. An initiative between Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) and partners Teach for America (TFA) and Gulliver Schools, this program aims to expose third and fourth grade students to additional reading time via one-on-one tutoring from students in grades nine through 12.

Holmes Elementary is home to approximately 550 predominantly African-American students. Since early 2014, the Baby Bulls program – held on a bi-monthly basis from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday mornings – offers both Miami Northwestern Senior High School AP students and Gulliver Prep IB students the opportunity to give their free time to make a life-changing impact on the lives of young students at Holmes.

“The Baby Bulls program is a great experience that I’m always happy to be a part of,” says Marina Santos, a high school junior at Gulliver. “It’s an amazing feeling when all our work and the children’s work pays off and seeing the excitement they have to improve their skills. Going every Saturday is not a burden, it’s a privilege.”