Elm City Montessori School
The One Book, One School books this year.
Every month over the past school year, each pre‑K through sixth grade student at Elm City Montessori School (ECMS) has read the same book. One month the book may teach how to navigate being the odd one out at school; the next month it might guide students to question gender stereotypes.
The reading is part of an initiative at the school called One Book, One School, the only one of its kind in New Haven’s public school system.
“Books are starter packets for starting conversations with our families and learners. Books are so relatable,” said ECMS Anti-Bias, Anti-Racism Director Amelia Sherwood.
Sherwood shared these strategies at a virtual workshop on the school’s “One Book, One School” initiative on Wednesday evening. School families, leaders from other montessori schools and parents from other New Haven Public Schools filled the online audience.
Emily Hays File Photo
Elm City Montessori students learn outside this winter.
The One Book, One School initiative began three years ago, as the logical next step after ECMS hosted trainings for the teachers and other school adults on undoing racism.
Undoing racism, affirming student differences — these are fundamental goals for what education in America should be, according to Principal Julia Webb.
“This is just the work we’re doing. This is non-negotiable,” Webb said. “It is as essential as reading on grade level and complicated math work.”
Lucy Gellman File Photo
Amelia Sherwood reads a children’s book aloud at a Juneteenth celebration this summer.
Sherwood’s role as anti-bias, anti-racism director is unique among New Haven Public Schools. Elm City Montessori is already unusual as a charter school within the public school district. Setting aside a salary for an anti-bias, anti-racism coordinator further sets the school apart.
Every book in the One Book, One School program so far — except one — is authored by a Black or Indigenous writer, or another writer of color. Sherwood and Webb avoid books with any kinds of stereotypes or harmful messages.
The school’s teachers talk with students after the reading and do related activities. After a book on gender stereotypes, they spoke about their own favorite colors and activities and practiced identifying stereotypes.
Parents occasionally question the content in one or two of the books. School staff try to welcome them into a dialogue about it, while maintaining that teaching about self-love, racism and history are core to the school’s mission.
Those on the call remembered how important certain books were to their growing sense of identity as a child. Terri Laue spoke about how she identified with the main character in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s “Anne of Green Gables” as a queer child.
One Quinnipiac Real World Math STEM School parent, listed as “Liz,” asked why such a cool program is not available to other New Haven Public Schools students.
Executive Director Eliza Halsey offered to help prep Liz for any advocacy she wanted to do as a parent. Halsey was one of the parents who first campaigned to create Elm City Montessori.
“You have a critical voice,” Halsey said.
The New Haven Public Schools Board of Education adopted a policy on race and equity in November. The document set the existing priorities of many teachers, administrators and other staff into an explicit district-wide policy that covers what gets taught, who gets school dollars and more.
Since then, the district trained administrators, staff and even board members in having “courageous conversations” on race and equity, as developed by Glenn Singleton. A subset of this group went through professional development on how to watch school attendance, graduation rates and test scores to decrease inequities between racial groups.
The district has also put together a group called Students Organized Against Racism (SOAR). The 80 teachers and students in the group are learning how to be anti-racist leaders.
Ivelise Velazquez currently leads the district’s race and equity programs as assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
No other school in the district has a similar position to Sherwood’s. Velazquez explained that the goal is to get every school staff member involved in race and equity. Sometimes, when one person is assigned to focus on equity, others stay uninvolved.
Sherwood’s perspective was that she came at all of her jobs at Elm City Montessori from an anti-bias and anti-racism lens. It became clear at a certain point that those tasks needed more time and attention dedicated to them, so the school created the position Sherwood now fills.