September is Friendship Month!

September is here, which marks the start of the new school year, new routines, new classes, and new friendships! 

Immigrant and Refugee Stories: The Sun is Also a Star

From speaking with students I’ve taught over the past ten years and interviews conducted by my student journalists about Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), immigration, and being undocumented in the U.S., I've learned that getting to America is one journey—staying is another entirely.

Immigrant and Refugee Stories: Enrique's Journey

There’s something to be said about putting yourself in another person’s shoes. Even if those shoes will never fit perfectly, and you struggle to stay upright because you could never fully understand the perspective, journey, or fortitude that led them through it. Enrique’s Journey: The Story of a...

Immigrant and Refugee Stories: Ink Knows No Borders

Poetry offers a creative outlet for writers to explore their emotions, experiences, and dreams for the future. It offers extraordinary literary freedom. It can look and sound like anything the author wants—it could rhyme (or not), it could be a haiku with short and simple syllables, or it could be...

Immigrant and Refugee Stories Month: I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

Something I think students with siblings might be able to relate to is competing with each other to please their parents or be the best. In some cases it’s all in good fun, but other times young teens might feel pressure to match their sibling’s grades, experiences, or behavior. 

Immigrant and Refugee Stories Month: American Street

The best part of my job is the gift of diversity and the stories I get to prompt students to produce in a creative way through narratives, short stories, digital media, and art. As a teacher, it allows me to broaden my horizons and understand our world a little more.

Mental Health Awareness: Parachutes

It’s not a secret that people compare American schools with other countries’ schools, and Chinese schools are known as some of the strictest in terms of exams—particularly their college entrance exams called gaokao. In Kelly Yang’s book Parachutes, this topic is introduced right away. We find out...

Mental Health Awareness: Mind Your Head

Juno Dawson is a prominent transgender activist and writer. Known for her fact-driven books, she focuses on topics teens wonder about or need to understand to live healthily. Mind Your Head offers vital mental health information, This Book is Gay examines sexuality, and Being a Boy dials in on just...

Mental Health Awareness: Yolk

In Yolk, author Mary H.K. Choi portrays a pair of estranged sisters. They’ve grown apart following their childhood in Texas and now both live in New York City separately. June is three years older, very successful in her vile finance job, and Jayne is in college and a bit egregious and...

Mental Health Awareness: All the Bright Places

You know those books that you hug at the end? This is one of those books. All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven is just plain good—heartbreaking, sad, fun, eye opening, and well written. It has everything you need to make an impact on readers, especially those who struggle with mental health.