My students need more diverse books. They need to read books by black authors. They need to read books about black kids. They need to see that people just like them have achieved amazing things.
My school is a small middle school, serving a very diverse population made up of African-American, Native American, Latino and Caucasian students from all across the country and beyond. We serve a county that is made up at least in part by Army and Air Force personnel from Fort Bragg and Pope Air Field. Ours is a rural county and our district, while growing, still struggles for funds to put into library collections and other resources.
Some of my students are from far-flung places and are away from home.
Others grew up here, but have never left the county in which they were born. Some have no family members that have ever attended college. Some will be the first to graduate from high school, if we can get them there.
My Project
I am working to equalize my media center, for the books in the library to better reflect the student body I serve. My white students have thousands of books about people that look like them, whereas my students of color struggle to find good books about kids like them, or by authors who look like them.
It's important for a child to grow up seeing and reading about people like him or herself doing great things and being great people.
Books like these, both nonfiction and novels, are a huge step forward in encouraging students of color.
For example, The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales is a fantastic book to connect students with their roots.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Chestnut and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
