Office of Communications

1220 Howard Street

Kalamazoo, MI 49008
(269) 337-1572 Fax (269) 337-0195
TDD (269) 337-0152
www.kalamazoopublicschools.com
e-mail coneysl@kalamazoopublicschools.net
Susan Coney
Director

The purpose of the diverse classroom libraries project was to add books that represented
the racial diversity of Kalamazoo Public Schools to the district’s elementary school
classrooms, so students could see themselves represented in literature.

About 62 percent of the KPS student body consists of students from racial and ethnic
minorities, but, according to the Cooperative Children's Book Center at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, nationally only 23 percent of children's books have characters from
racially diverse backgrounds.

A committee of teachers and administrators reviewed and vetted hundreds of books for
the diverse classroom libraries, with a focus on whether the books had characters of
color, were written by authors of color, and avoided offensive expressions or
stereotypical representations.

After a teacher read her class one of the books submitted for consideration for the
program, which depicted a young transgender child, the district received complaints from
three parents. The district made the decision to focus the diverse classroom book
selection process on just issues of racial and ethnic diversity, and to avoid other diversity
issues such as disability, socio-economics, and sexuality at this time.

The district is sensitive to the concerns parents have about the topics of gender identity
and sexuality, and, especially, the need to ensure that those issues are discussed in an age-
appropriate fashion. Recently, for example, the district approved a new reproductive
health curriculum. Parents had the opportunity to review those materials before they were
approved. And, parents reserve the right to opt their children out of those classes and
discussions.

The diverse classroom library project is an ongoing project in its initial phase. The issue
of including other areas of diversity may be a part of future discussions. We would also
note that our general school libraries already include books that address issues of sexual
identity and related topics, when the literature is deemed age-appropriate.