MPCSD wins Kent Award for Community Reads Initiative

Menlo Park City School District has received a 2023-24 J. Russell Kent Award from the San Mateo County School Boards Association for its elementary school Community Reads Initiative. The Kent Award Program began in 1980 to recognize innovative and replicable programs that are being implemented in a school district, county office of education, or in the community college district in San Mateo County.

MPCSD’s Community Reads Initiative offers a platform to add new voices to the classroom experience and draw on input from the district’s many diverse families to inform our planning. Through these read-aloud experiences, the conditions of belonging are enhanced because more students see themselves reflected in classroom lessons. MPCSD believes that when students feel that they are seen and belong, they will thrive emotionally and academically.

The initiative began three years ago as a Jeanie Ritchie Innovation Grant funded by the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation at one school campus. Its success prompted all elementary schools to implement the project. Over the years, the initiative has also evolved to include more parental involvement. For example, while developing classroom lessons and activities for the book My Bindi by Gita Varadarajan, the team actively sought the participation of parents and families with Indian cultural heritage. Their authentic voices, insights, and perspectives were integral to the process and the lessons teachers ultimately presented.

A dedicated group of educators from each elementary school reviews and selects books for implementation, identifying literature that is not only suitable but also encompasses diverse authors and illustrators representing various cultures and is available to purchase. This year’s books include, in addition to My Bindi, Yefferson, Actually by Katherine Trejo and Scott Martin-Rowe, More Than Peach by Bellen Woodard, Mrs. Katz and Tush by Patricia Polacco, and Lailah’s Lunchbox by Reem Faruqi.

The Kent Award will be presented at the 44th Annual Kent Awards Dinner: A Time for Celebration on May 10, 2024 in Foster City.