As part of a civic action project, my student identified a lack of diversity in the school library of LBGTQ themed books. This 6th grader wants to change this and would like to make book donations to the library in this genre.
What resources /organizations might support her in this endeavor?
Thanks for sharing! These are amazing resources.
This is an incredible opporunity for you to empower your student to take action on a topic she feels passionate about. I wonder how you could elevate her voice to make the request? One avenue would be for her to write a letter to submit to a leaer within the district - school board, superintendent, principal. Your student could also submit the letter to a local business. Imagine the incredible opportunity that would result from her own self advocacy!
I would recommend your student include; key statistics similar to those referenced in the previous post, why this matters to her, results from a book audit, and specific list of titles with total amount requested. To identify book titles in ways beyond the internet she could also parnter with a librarian or local bookstore. I recently updated my library wtih LGBTQ+ titles and worked with an education specialist from a local bookstore. One way to conduct a book audit is to create a list of the desired titles and then crossreference with the library to see if there are any matches. From there work with the librarian to identify our library has _____ LGBTQ+ out of ______ total books.
I have included the list of titles from my purchase as well of the the list of orginally recommended titles. I teach 4th grade so had to adjust the titles a bit. Also, I own Max and The Midnights by Lincoln Pearce, but do also recommend this graphic novel.
Good luck!
This is such a great endeavor for your student and your school, especially as 81% of LGBTQ youth in the United States reported there being no positive portrayals of LGTBQ people, history, or events. In fact, 15% reported learning negative portrayals (GLSEN, 2013). Across the country, less than half of all students reported they could find LGBT related content in school library.
There are some great starting grounds for content/history, which might help to direct your student toward specific book titles for purchase:
GLSEN
Human Rights Campaign
The Safe Zone Project
Teaching Tolerance
The Trevor Project
Your Community/Your School
This site would be a great start too: https://libguides.luc.edu/c.php?g=49784&p=2764896.
To Ken's point about funding, a lot of organizations will match whatever donations are collected. There might be mini-grants available too, etc.
I will ask a few colleagues in my district for organizations focused on that topic, I can't think of any. However, this project may require the collection and dispersing of money.
Donors Choose is a great organization focused on helping teachers receive funds to support classroom projects. However, it is very specific on exactly what companies you can purchase from. I would recommend www.pledgecents.com. This organization is built for supporting teachers, and it is a crowdfunding platform where anyone can donate to a specific project cause. This website would allow you to purchase from any type of vendor more freely than Donors Choose. Additionally, if your project is not fully funded, you lose it all with Donors Choose. If your project is not fully-funded with Pledge Cents, you get whatever was raised to still support the project as best as possible.
I hope this helps! @Zachariah Lowe do you have any additional resources for this?