A union’s commitment to community

On a chilly Saturday in upstate New York, with seven inches of snow on the ground and temperatures hovering just above freezing, hundreds of people poured into the Liberty High School gym for the highlight of the weekend: brand new books, in English and Spanish, absolutely free of charge.

“To see the enthusiasm and the kids’ faces light up when they were able to go ahead and take a book—it was an amazing experience,” says Kevin Ferguson, president of the Liberty Faculty Association in Liberty, N.Y.

The Liberty Central School District’s community schools coordinator organized the event with participation from more than 20 community organizations and local vendors, including the local Rotary Club, the Catskill Animal Rescue (puppies and kittens were on hand), and the Liberty PTA to reflect what public schools actually are: communities of care, opportunity and support. Families moved between booths where they could engage in everything from carnival-style games to sledding down a snowy hill to building a miniature bridge out of uncooked spaghetti noodles. Middle School Inventionland, a STEM-focused project-based learning program at Liberty Middle School, set up a hands-on robotics demonstration, and one of the highlights was the “blender bike,” which allowed kids to pedal their way to a fresh smoothie as part of the school’s healthy food initiative.

The blender bike was such a hit that Liberty Elementary School parent Blu Saravia’s daughters, ages 4 and 6, asked if they could have one at home.

But at the heart of the event was the LFA’s initiative to put books in the hands of young readers. Using a grant from the AFT’s Reading Opens the World initiative, the LFA purchased nearly 1,000 brand-new, carefully curated books with an emphasis on bilingual and Spanish-language titles to serve the district’s increasingly diverse student body.

Liberty High School, where Ferguson teaches science, is now a minority-majority school and has a growing population of students whose first language is not English.

“Being able to provide books in a family’s native language is a powerful way to engage parents in their child’s education,” he says. “Many of our students speak English at school but speak Spanish at home. Giving them access to books in both languages supports their literacy and helps them develop a love of reading.”

Popular titles included Diary of a Wimpy Kid #19, Simone Biles: Athletes Who Made a Difference, and childhood classics like Pete the Cat: Super Pete and The Berenstain Bears Go to School. Some of those titles went home with one of the food vendors, who offered to distribute them to families at his restaurant to promote literacy, reading and a sense of community.

For the Saravia girls, Dr. Seuss’ The Eye Book and Dinosaur Rap were the winners. The oldest, Aurora, loved the latter so much she read it aloud to a preschool class and plans to take it to school to share with her friends—even though the prehistoric names can be a bit of a challenge for the kindergartner to sound out.

However, the event was about more than books and blender bikes—it was also about community engagement and community care. The Liberty Central School District is a low-income district and qualifies for supplemental federal funding through Title I, so the event also raised money for the district’s snack pack program, which sends backpacks full of food home with kids who need it at the end of each week.

Ferguson notes that if the Department of Education is eliminated and Title I funding isn’t preserved, LCSD will feel the impact.

“As a Title I school, we are extremely high poverty,” he says. “We also happen to be a high-needs district; we have a relatively large number of special education students and English language learners. The majority of those programs, as well as other programs, could potentially end up being impacted by any loss of federal funding.”

Overall, the entire day underscored a larger theme: Public schools are the beating hearts of their community.

“I went to Liberty High School, so I knew people there and there were people who knew me, so I could let the girls explore the activities freely,” Saravia says. “They made slime, built a tower with spaghetti, played with a robot, and my youngest sang karaoke. And it was great to see others there who could explore in the same way.”

Saravia did say that the girls spotted the books right away and that was the main draw. Belting out “Let It Go” from Frozen came in second.

The books were also the main draw for New York state Assemblymember Paula Elaine Kay, who sent a note of thanks to the LFA, remarking that the books were a wonderful gift—though it may have also been the rendition of a Disney hit by Saravia’s 4-year-old daughter that spurred the legislator to write.

Ferguson also notes the importance of community, and for unions to be a force that strengthens it.

“It’s one thing to teach children in a classroom,” he says. “But to be part of a community event, giving away something as impactful as books, provides a whole different level of connection.”

[Melanie Boyer]