Sarasota and Manatee elementary students celebrate Embracing Our Differences Reading Day

Steven Walker, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·2 min read
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Harriet Moore, Director of Innovation and Equality for the Sarasota County School District, reads from the book "Where are you from?" by author Yamile Saied Mendez, and illustrator Jaime Kim, to third-grade students at Tuttle Elementary School. Embracing Our Differences arranged for more than 100 volunteers to read aloud to more than 9,000 students in Sarasota and Manatee County schools on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. Each participating student also received a new book.
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Amid the conservative push against diversity, equity and inclusion policies in education, a Sarasota nonprofit hosted a diversity reading day Tuesday at elementary schools across Sarasota and Manatee counties.

More than 9,000 Pre-K through 3rd-grade students across almost 80 schools participated in the Embracing Our Differences Reading Day, hosted by the nonprofit of the same name. Embracing Our Differences organized 147 volunteers to read to classrooms, and brought more than 9,700 books focused on diversity and inclusion to gift to the students.

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Harriet Moore, Director of Innovation and Equality for the Sarasota County School District, reads the book "Where are you from?" to students in Nohemi Hall and Bailey Hamel's third-grade classrooms at Tuttle Elementary School on Tuesday.
Harriet Moore, Director of Innovation and Equality for the Sarasota County School District, reads the book "Where are you from?" to students in Nohemi Hall and Bailey Hamel's third-grade classrooms at Tuttle Elementary School on Tuesday.

The books given to students were "You Hold Me Up" by Monique Gray Smith, "I Am Enough: I Believe I Can" by Grace Byers, "The Many Colors of Harpreet Singh" by Supriya Kelkar, "Mango, Abuela, and Me" by Meg Medina, and "Where Are You From?" by Yamile Saied Méndez. District employees with a media specialist certificate vetted and approved the books for donation to students, Embracing Our Differences Executive Director Sarah Wertheimer said Tuesday.

Harriet Moore, the Sarasota County School District's director of innovation and equity, read "Where Are You From?" by Yamile Saied Méndez to a class of third-graders at Tuttle Elementary. The book, which featured a message of embracing our collective origin along with elaborate illustrations, was given to each of the almost 50 third-grade students Moore read to.

After the reading, Moore shared with the students about how humans likely all originated from Africa, and from there we all share something, despite our differences.

"Where are we all from?" she asked the students. "We are from everyone."

Moore said she tries to visit classrooms as often as possible, but this was her first time reading to students with Embracing Our Differences. She said she's worked with them in the past on workshops for teachers, but being able to interact with the students and send a message of inclusion was a "win-win for all of us."

"When you come from someplace else, you move here, you feel different and you don't feel like you belong," Moore said. "But it's so important to have that sense of belonging and having your dignity honored."

Third-grade students at Tuttle Elementary applaud at the conclusion of a book reading on Tuesday. Embracing Our Differences arranged for more than 100 volunteers to read aloud to more than 9,000 students in Sarasota and Manatee County schools on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. Each participating student also received a free new book.
Third-grade students at Tuttle Elementary applaud at the conclusion of a book reading on Tuesday. Embracing Our Differences arranged for more than 100 volunteers to read aloud to more than 9,000 students in Sarasota and Manatee County schools on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. Each participating student also received a free new book.

The reading day comes as diversity, equity and inclusion policies come under attack by conservative politicians and activists. At New College of Florida, newly-appointed Board of Trustee Christopher Rufo pushed the college to abolish its Office of Outreach and Inclusive Excellence along with several other DEI policies.

In Sarasota County Schools, the district restricted book donations and readings to start the school year, citing compliance with new Florida laws requiring certified media specialists. Now, as the second half of the school year unfolds, select community organizations such as Embracing Our Differences are able to come into schools with books.

Follow Herald-Tribune Education Reporter Steven Walker on Twitter at @swalker_7. He can be reached at sbwalker@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota nonprofit promotes diversity in school classroom reading