About One School, One Story
One School, One Story is a summer reading program designed with the goal of building community through a shared reading experience.
Our Mission
We believe in building a community through literature and conversation. We have found through our many years of educating and simply existing that stories can create empathy, compassion, understanding, and can help people through difficult moments in their own lives. That is what entering the world of a narrative can do. It can allow an escape from our reality or a new perspective of a parallel experience. It is through reading stories that we make sense of our lives in their entirety: in their cruelty and their kindness.
We are hoping through reading the student-chosen One Story, One School book, we see each other through new lenses and with changed perspectives. And for this book-in-verse to frame community conversations that may be difficult but necessary or simple but revelatory.
Why One School, One Story Works
Excerpted from the article "Four Years of One School, One Story. Why does it work?"
by Kendall Boninti, Allyson McHugh, and Emilie Perna
- It brings people together through year-round programming.
- It advances equity and accessibility by putting books in the hands of all students. Books are purchased in multiple languages and formats, and reading support materials are provided via an OSOS website.
- It gives ALL students (and teachers) a voice. Students vote on the book and drive the programming agenda.
- It connects reading to the real world through workshops, assemblies, and lessons that connect the themes of the book to real-world issues. The texts we have read as a community are not about assessment, but about topics our students are faced with every day on the news and in their communities, but do not have the space to discuss. We offer the space for these topics and a lens through which to see the world.
- It’s interdisciplinary. Our summer reading committee is made up of a diverse group of teachers, school counselors, administrators, public librarians, and students. Together, we work to develop meaningful programming that transcends the boundaries of traditional academic disciplines.
- It’s grounded in data. A summer reading survey is administered to students and staff every year to gather information on participation rates, programming, and ideas for the future.
- It’s fun! We always launch our all-school read with a week-long series of events that are inspired by the themes of the text.