Arcata School District’s Library Diversity Project Receives Funding from Perrett Community Fund and Humboldt Sponsors

Arcata Elementary School Library Clerk Janet Allen. [Photo from the Arcata School District]

The Arcata School District is pleased to announce that its Library Diversity Project is well underway with the support of two local funders, promising to transform and invigorate the Arcata Elementary and Sunny Brae Middle School libraries by significantly expanding the variety of books offered to students. The District will be able to appropriately serve all students by providing library materials that build students’ emotional intelligence and empathy, foster appreciation for those who are different, and strengthen values of cooperation and multiculturalism.

When Principal Victoria Parker initiated an audit of the elementary school library last fall, she found that the majority of books featured main characters who were white or were animals. In response, the District sought grant funding to provide books for children that featured a variety of authors, illustrators, and content representing Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). In January 2021, the Tom & Stephanie Perrett Community Fund, a fund of Humboldt Area Foundation, donated $2,000 to the project. In March, Humboldt Sponsors provided another $2,000. The District’s student body of approximately five hundred TK-8^th grade students will directly benefit from the generosity of these funders. All grant funds received will be used for the purchase of library books that were chosen based on their review by respected journals and reviewers including the Human Rights Campaign’s Welcoming Schools program.

The District has made diversity and inclusion a priority over the past three years, with administrators and staff participating in various anti-bias and equity trainings since 2017. The District greatly appreciates funding assistance to improve the school libraries with a rich array of books reflecting and benefiting all students. By adding books by BIPOC adults for BIPOC students as well as books that promote inclusion and celebrate diversity for all students, both Arcata Elementary and Sunny Brae Middle School can improve school climate and build unity as students come to better understand themselves and one another, with repercussions benefiting the entire community and beyond.

For more information, Arcata School District, Arcata Elementary School, and Sunny Brae Middle School have their own websites and Facebook pages.