Thank you for your generous support of Diverse Books for kids!
Forty VUSD educators received books for their classrooms or programs.
Joel Levin, Buena High School’s Library Media Teacher said, “It is vital that weprovide literature for students that validates and honors their life experiences. This is amplified exponentially for our students (including our LGBTQ+ community) who face discrimination on a daily basis. They need to see heroes and protagonists like them – characters who face the same struggles and journeys towards self-love and self-actualization.”
For VEP President, Madhu Bajaj, reading and books are her passion. She said, “Students need access to books that feel relevant to them, where they can see themselves, their peers, deepen their understanding of themselves while also learning about others. We are grateful that our community agreed and supported this effort that brought 1,750 new, diverse books to VUSD schools.”
Books were delivered to campuses early February and brought smiles to teachers' faces as they shared their plans for bringing books to students. Kathy Asher and Debbie Golden, VEP’s Co-VP of Grants said, “Through this program, VUSD staff showed their passion and commitment to diversity by selecting a vast array of age-appropriate literature and helping students think critically about cultural differences in our world.”
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