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| DOTY Principal Gillian Fuqua speaks to the assembled
students in Worcester about the importance of Reading to End Racism. Also seen in
the same photo are volunteers Janet Connor and Beth Wade, and our large
book display on the bleachers. When one student came in early for his
breakfast, he said "why are there books with pictures like me?" |
Reading to End Racism
celebrates working with seven schools this year, all of the smaller schools in
Central Vermont: East Montpelier, Calais, Twinfield, Rumney, Doty, Berlin, and
Cabot. This means we reached 730
students, their teachers, and even perhaps a ripple effect to some of their
families in 2026! We thank the 17 volunteer readers who participated, six of
them new volunteers. A small action can
have many ripples.
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| Janet Connor reads at a classroom in Calais |
We were excited about our February
training at the Bethany Church in Montpelier which introduced new volunteers to
potential books, activities, and our excellent training materials and our blog
with more resources. Working with the
classroom teachers and their own creativity, the volunteers shape lessons and
activities suited to each individual classroom.
We even had new volunteers stepping up to coordinate school events. Schools
were uniformly welcoming, with creative ideas for assemblies, and invitations
to come back next year. It is a
partnership that matters.
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| At Twinfield, paperplate faces go with the book What if We Were
All the Same read by Anne Rich about how boring it would be if we were all
identical. |
With increased visibility,
we hope now to gain enough volunteers to work in the larger school systems in
Montpelier and Barre. A number of
organizations have offered to help us advertise our fall training. Already we may have a head start on new
volunteers.
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| Long-time volunteer reader Joseph Gainza browses the books on display at Rumney. |
For the first time, the
Montpelier High School co-sponsored a Reading to End Racism workshop for
students during their Race to End Racism Day.
Of the 12 students who participated, 7 are interested in working with
children next year, and perhaps could team up with our regular volunteers to
work in the Montpelier School on a designated day. One of our volunteers is a
former Montpelier Elementary teacher and delighted in seeing some former
students at this event. This same
volunteer, Susan Koch, is eager to
organize an RER event in the Montpelier Elementary School next year. One of the
high school students wrote, “I wish all kids can learn these things at a young
age.” Perhaps this student will help
make it happen in their own school system now.
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| Beth Wade reads Amos and Boris to a kindergarten class at DOTY in Worcester. |
The need to address racism
has not disappeared. In fact, we need to
grow our book collection with more options on immigrants, migrant workers, and
our many citizens from multiple cultures and traditions beyond its current
focus on black Americans. Several professional librarians, book sellers, and a
worker with children’s books have offered to help. Any way we can make
Vermonters more open to each others’ experience and history will be important
for all of us now and in the future. The children of today can be leaders in
creating a society that welcomes and
respects everyone.
