UPTOWN — A Courtenay Elementary School teacher's Donors Choose project to help diversify the school's library was funded in just two days.
Jessica Eaton, who teaches at the school at 4420 N. Beacon St., posted the project to fund "the one area where we are lacking diversity," the school's library, on April 5, and it was completely funded by the end of the school day April 7, she said.
"I was overwhelmed by people’s positive response to my grant and touched by people’s generosity. I have had other grants fulfilled through Donors Choose, but none that were funded so quickly. It was clear that people in our community care about multicultural literature and understand what a powerful experience it can be when students see themselves and their experiences represented in books," Eaton said.
Donors Choose helps connect donors to classrooms in need, "moving us closer to a nation where students in every community have the tools and experiences they need for a great education," according to its website.
"Unlike the diversity that is present in our classrooms, our libraries feature mainly white, middle-class characters, neglecting the rich backgrounds of our students and ignoring the experiences that they bring with them. Our students need books that will act as mirrors and will allow them to see themselves represented in literature," Eaton said on the project's website.
"Located in one of Chicago's more diverse neighborhoods, our school serves as home to students of a multitude of different cultural backgrounds," Eaton said. "Our population is mainly black with mostly African-American students, but we also have many African immigrants who have come from countries like the Congo and Nigeria," adding that the school also has a large Hispanic population and includes kids who speak 12 languages.
Books featuring Latino and African-American characters were in the hands of students by Tuesday, she said.
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