Each year the Alliance for Education, the independent nonprofit, raises money and builds partnerships to support Seattle Public Schools (SPS) to advance educational justice and racial equity districtwide.
To meet that goal, the Alliance runs and funds major initiatives such as the Seattle Teacher Residency program to recruit and retain diverse educators; the Right Now Needs Fund, which provides emergency help for students’ basic needs; and fiscal sponsorships that handle fundraising for PTAs and school groups.
In 2022, the organization launched the Classroom Resource Fund that provides Seattle educators with books and classroom materials that reflect, support and uplift their student’s diverse identities. As part of that work, the organization compiled a list of more than 50 books that reflect and celebrate the diversity within SPS classrooms, crowdsourced from local educators and national experts.
According to an Alliance release, the reading list “was made at a time when book bans swept the nation in an attempt to limit representation and learning—an issue that continues today.”
It’s a list worth printing out as you head to the library with your kids.
If you’d like to learn more about the books and the collection, the Alliance is hosting its Convening Seattle Community Luncheon on Sep. 17, where attendees will help ensure these books reach classrooms led by alums from the Alliance’s Seattle Teacher Residency.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO GO TO THE BOOK LIST. (Graphic: Alliance for Education)
Support the resource fund
You can help ensure that this curated list of books continues to reach kids in Seattle Public Schools. Consider supporting the Alliance for Education Classroom Resource Fund by making a donation on the organization’s website.
