Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC)
Building a Community through Books: Rockwern and Hays Porter Share Lessons, Experiences
Rockwern Academy just finished the 7th year of its All School Read program. The last four years, they have partnered with other schools in order to create a shared community experience for their students, introducing them to people in the broader community. This year they worked with Hays Porter Elementary, a predominantly Black Cincinnati Public School in the West End. Rockwern’s librarian, Julia Weinstein, reflects on the project at the end of this school year and looks forward to next year.
JCRC: Tell us about the All School Read program at Rockwern Academy.
It all started with a question: What if an entire school, from preschool to eighth grade, read the same book; partnered with another school, also reading that book; then brought all the children together?
What you get is an explosion of creative and interpersonal energy that begins with the children and radiates throughout the schools and communities.
Over the last seven years, Rockwern Academy has teamed up with schools, authors and illustrators, college students, and community organizations to engage children in the values explored in books.
This past year, we found two impressively deep picture books that, each in its own way, express an essential value and our theme for the year – community. Those books were Last Stop on Market Street and The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm.
Then we asked the educators at Hays Porter Elementary School, an urban school in the West End, if they would like to join us in a shared reading and community-building experience. They agreed enthusiastically. That set into motion a whirlwind of activity and ideas that lasted the entire school year.
JCRC: Tell us what you think is the biggest lesson to come out of this community project.
The teachers and students at both schools learned how a book can create a community of readers. We saw this community taking shape during the meetings between students from both schools and the authors and an illustrator; and we saw the teachers at both schools building a community by working together and sharing ideas to incorporate the books into their curriculum.
We began the All School Read program to introduce our students to others they wouldn’t normally cross paths with. First through fourth grade Rockwern students were paired with students at Hays Porter. They were pen pals, writing back and forth over the course of the school year. The students met each other twice, once at Rockwern and once at Hays Porter. Time to interact is limited during the school year, and although we may not have built full bridges, we hope we built on-ramps to relationships, with entryways on both sides of the highway.
JCRC: Are there any personal stories or anecdotes that really stuck with you?
Mary Paden, a first grade teacher at Rockwern, said, “When the students met their pen pals in person, they were like long-lost friends. They immediately started talking about their letters and about their families.”
Mary told me her favorite moment was when she and a Hays Porter teacher were talking about multi-lingual students. The teacher mentioned that they had a new student from Syria who spoke French, but she regretted that none of the other students could speak to her in her native language. Mary lit up because she knew one of the Rockwern students spoke fluent French. The children were introduced and began a conversation instantly. Several teachers noticed that the Syrian child had the biggest smile they had seen in two months.
Also, when the authors came, both schools created additional activities for the children to get to know each other. One fifth grader at Rockwern told me about his experience working on an art project with a student from Hays Porter. “I was surprised that in five minutes, I realized we made a connection,” he said. “We had similar interests, and I knew we could be friends.”
JCRC: How did the larger community help you?
Generous donors allowed us to bring the authors to Cincinnati, to purchase more than a thousand books, and to create libraries which provide access to children, some of whom don’t have any books of their own.
The students and professors at the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP) donated their time and talent to work with 6th – 8th grade students
from both schools to create, build, and paint “little libraries.” Seeing those students concept ideas together; exchange thoughts throughout the building process; then finish the libraries by painting together was rewarding. The DAAP students showed great leadership working with the older students from both schools.
Reading Rainbow donated copies of The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm for the program.
JCRC: What are your plans for next year?
Teachers are already sharing ideas for next year’s theme: Words Matter. We will be reading Wonder, We’re All Wonders and The Courage to be Kind.
