Guadalupe Center
Stefanie Estes, ROR-KC’s Book Coordinator, worked with a group of high school students every week for two months. The goal of the project was to create a database of diverse books for children birth to 5 years old.
Literature featuring diverse characters is essential for all children to understand the world in which they live in. Here at Reach Out and Read Kansas City, we understand how important it is to get these books in our clinics and into the hands of children. The challenge? Being able to afford them.
As you can see by the graphics provided by The Cooperative Children’s Book Center, publication of diverse books have increased in the past 10 years. Unfortunately, many are not available at a discount yet, making it hard for ROR-KC to purchase. It leaves us relying on book drives to get these titles.
When the Guadalupe Centers High School Real World Learning Coordinator, Keith Schoen, contacted ROR-KC’s Book Coordinator, Stefanie Estes, inquiring about any student projects for the Impact Academy to work on as part of their semester final, Stefanie jumped at the chance to work with student in our community.
Stefanie worked with this group of high school students every week for two months. The goal of the project was to create a database of diverse books for children birth to 5 years old. During the process, they took a field trip to the main KCMO public library to look at children’s books and get a feel for quality and concepts in literature. While there, Stefanie explained that library cards are given free of charge and made sure the students that did not have one had one before leaving.
At a local preschool, each student had the chance to test out their book selections by giving a reading to the children. In preparation for this, Stefanie performed a mock story time and taught the students the art of reading to a classroom of preschoolers!
Stefanie said, “Helping students become confident public speakers via their final presentation and seeing them take ownership of their project over the course of our time together was magical.”
Ashlyn Welch, an educator at the Guadalupe Center, commented on the partnership by saying “Partnering with Reach out and Read at the Guadalupe Centers High School Impact Academy was an incredibly wonderful experience. The passion that Stefanie and the Reach out and Read team had for their work really inspired students to contribute to their mission. It was clear that, as students engaged with their project, they were gaining knowledge that would carry them beyond this classroom. One of my favorite moments was when the students were able to visit the Guadalupe Centers Early Childhood Center and share books they had researched and hand picked for Reach out and Read. Watching them experience the impact of their work with the next generation of young learners was a testament to the value of providing students opportunities to have a positive impact on their community.”
Working with the Impact Academy was an amazing opportunity to bring awareness and change when it comes to getting more diverse books into the hands of our community’s children. To view the list created by the students in the Impact Academy at the Guadalupe Centers High School, click here.
