Dupont Elementary reading program

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – A teacher at Dupont Elementary has found a unique way to get kids interested in reading.

She has picked out books with different characters, that might be just like the students at school.

Brenda Morris is a Kindergarten teacher at Dupont.

She says this all started with the work of a collaborative committee.

Morris says the job of the group was to find diverse books that would ultimately end up in the hands of students.

“The common book that you will Google and search for in children’s books isn’t exactly an accurate picture of our student body. We have students from all over the world, with different types of backgrounds and different walks of life. So we have to really spend hours going deep into research, finding books that match their walks of life or their diversity.”

That attention to detail is being noticed.

Miracle Hurley is a parent to a student at Dupont Elementary.

“It’s very important. My daughter is biracial. So getting a book that reflects more of who she is, is super. It’s important because seeing who you are reflected in the pages of a book, where growing up for me, it was completely different. It empowers them, but it also gives them a sense of belonging.”

Morris hopes the program helps students excited about reading.

“I hope that they remember everybody at Dupont Elementary loves them, and they took an extra step to be intentional to show them that we love them.”