I teach 4th grade in an urban elementary school. My students are inquisitive, smart, and thoughtful! This year, I led them in a project where they learned about "windows and mirrors" - the idea that students should see their own identities in books AND books should be a window into other people's experiences. After we "audited" our school library, students discovered that we are in need of more diverse books! In the words of my students:
"If you don't see yourself in books, you might feel invisible." Isaac D.
"Our project is trying to get more books of identities that we don't see enough. This is including LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, people from other countries and different races. We are doing this project because we don’t want kids who, for example, are in a wheelchair. We don’t want them to feel like there’s nobody they can relate to. We want kids to see people like them, but also we want people to see that everybody is not the same. This project is trying to get people to know there's a bigger world out there." Corrina A.
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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