I work at Scarlett Middle School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Scarlett is a Title 1 school that is consistently named one of the most diverse middle schools in Michigan and is part of the only International Baccalaureate K-12 full continuum in the state.

Our club is a part of a larger organization known as Project LIT which is is a network of dedicated teachers and students who are committed to increasing access to culturally relevant books and promoting a love of reading in our schools and communities. Books are chosen by the Project LIT community and from the curated list, the club members vote on which ones to read.

Project LIT at Scarlett began as a humble book club via Zoom during COVID when I was completely disconnected from my library, the books, and the students. I delivered books to homes and we meet and discussed them via Zoom once a week.

Since that start 4 years ago, it has become a club complete with

*a place for students to find themselves in books and learn about others in books (windows, mirrors, sliding glass doors)

*service projects like collecting items needed for refugees in our community upon reading When Stars Are Scattered by Omar Mohamed and Victoria Jamieson

*events to educate our community like holding an Escape the Library event to educate others about interracial marriage, The Green Book, and other issues upon reading Clean Getaway by Nic Stone

*Project LIT Buddies where we go over to our nearby K-5 building and do literacy activities with a class of Kindergarteners

*adding the 8+ copies of books we’ve read to the library collection for other students to check out and read as well as allowing classroom teachers’ the opportunity to leverage those books for literature circles in their classrooms

It has been a joy to see this club grow and expand and incorporate new ideas every year!