When
Faith
Thompson,
first
grade
teacher
at
Yorkshire
Elementary
School,
reflects
on
her
days
as
a
student,
she
can't
recall
her
teachers
reading
books
that
had
characters
who
looked
like
her.
Now
as
a
teacher,
she
is
determined
to
share
books
that
include
diverse
characters.
In
the
summer
of
2020,
she
presented
a
vision
for
a
program
that
teaches
diversity
and
inclusion
using
stories.
Thompson's
original
idea
was
to
have
people
donate
books
to
her
and
her
fellow
teachers
at
Yorkshire
Elementary.
NBC
Washington
and
"CBS
This
Morning"
shared
her
idea,
but
when
SPARK,
the
education
foundation
for
PWCS,
heard
about
Thompson's
quest
for
book
donations,
they
introduced
her
to
Radhika
Bajaj,
the
founder
and
Chief
Executive
Officer
(CEO)
of
Bookworm
Central.
Bajaj
explained
that
Bookworm
Central's
"Book
Connect:
Building
Community
One
Book
at
a
Time,"
is
similar
to
Thompson's
vision,
but
with
a
few
customizations
the
"Book
Connect:
Celebrating
Diversity
and
Inclusion"
program
was
created.
The
structured
program
is
built
around
10
books.
Thompson
selected
books
that
she
enjoys
sharing
in
her
classroom,
but
she
conducted
some
additional
research
and
reached
out
to
the
school
librarian
at
Yorkshire
Elementary
for
suggestions.
While
reading
a
book,
the
teacher
initiates
student
discussion
by
asking
questions
about
key
themes.
After
the
reading,
students
participate
in
an
activity
that
features
key
lessons
from
the
book.
However,
the
learning
does
not
stop
there.
In
future
lessons,
when
teachable
moments
present
themselves,
teachers
are
encouraged
to
refer
to
the
stories
to
reiterate
connections
to
the
books.
"It's
more
than
about
the
books.
It's
about
long-term
intentional
conversations
that
are
going
to
build
that
foundation
over
time,"
Thompson
explained.
Bajaj,
who
also
serves
on
the
board
of
directors
for
SPARK,
shared,
"Being
involved
with
the
School
Division
allows
businesses
to
pay
it
forward
and
leave
a
legacy
where
you
may
not
be
presently
benefitting
from
the
work
that
you
are
doing,
but
you
are
contributing
to
the
future
because
our
human
capital
is
our
most
important
capital
and
it's
in
the
schools.
When
businesses
invest
their
time,
resources
and
means
to
support
schools,
it's
a
win-win
all
the
way
around.
Not
just
in
the
short
term,
but
really
for
the
long
term."
The
program
is
currently
in
117
classrooms
in
seven
schools
in
PWCS.
Thompson
plans
to
share
the
program
not
only
across
the
state,
but
nationwide.
"I'm
hoping
that
teachers
who
incorporate
this
program
in
their
classrooms
understand
that
this
is
a
journey,
a
commitment,
but
if
you
do
a
little
bit
at
a
time
and
just
build
on
it
naturally,
it's
invaluable.
It
builds
community,
it
builds
relationships,
it
helps
broaden
their
experiences
and
their
understanding
of
other
people.
It
gives
the
students
a
good
foundation
that
they're
going
to
need
when
they're
dealing
with
situations
throughout
their
lives,"
Thompson
explained.
The
program
materials
include
a
copy
of
all
10
books,
student
activity
handbooks
and
a
teacher's
guide.
Other
program
sponsors
include
Koons
Auto
Group,
Lockheed
Martin,
Micron,
Novant/UVA
Health
Systems,
Sandy
Spring
Bank,
Walmart,
and
Watermark
Risk
Management,
LLC.
If you are interested in helping support this program or other similar programs at PWCS, please contact SPARK.