Project Lit meets once per month during all lunch shifts for book-related activities and on Wellness Wednesdays for a more formal book club experience.  Any questions? Come to the library to learn more.

Dr. Jarred Amato and his Maplewood High School (Nashville, TN) students launched the first official Project LIT “chapter” in August 2016 with the goal of increasing book access and promoting a love of reading in Nashville. By May 2017, he encouraged students and educators across the country to join the movement, and as of March 2021, there were more than 1,800 Project LIT chapters across all 50 states. Whether chapter leaders are English teachers or librarians, teach in elementary or high schools, live in small towns or big cities, all of us commit to empowering our students as readers, writers, and leaders as we strive to better ourselves and our communities.

We are a national, grassroots literacy movement. We believe that when we commit to increasing book access and improving students’ reading attitudes, then we see improved literacy outcomes. Specifically, our Project LIT chapter leaders commit to:

• EMPOWER students to lead our Project LIT chapters & serve as LIT leaders in our communities

• INCREASE access to high-quality, culturally sustaining books (in both our classroom and community) that affirm & value all students

• CELEBRATE and PROMOTE literacy daily

• NURTURE authentic reading & writing identities

• BUILD community & FOSTER a sense of belonging

• CHAMPION young people & books that reflect their lived realities, communities, and identities

• HOST Project LIT Book Club events that bring students, educators, families, & community members together

• CREATE safe spaces to have courageous conversations as we strive to better ourselves & our communities

• ADVOCATE for anti-racist literacy policies & practices

• SUPPORT and INSPIRE one another as we improve our practice & pedagogy

• CONNECT and COLLABORATE with our Project LIT family (locally, nationally, & globally)

• PRIORITIZE daily independent reading, where students have time to read books of their choice (including Project LIT titles)

• FACILITATE literature circles & whole-class reads of Project LIT titles

• DESIGN student-centered lessons & units featuring Project LIT titles

• ENCOURAGE students to create & publish stories, novels, poems, artwork, etc. of their own.

• AMPLIFY voices & stories of students, educators, & authors of color

• REWRITE the narrative about which texts and authors are deemed worthy of academic study

• PROVIDE students with as many positive literacy experiences as possible