About Us
Our names are Caitlin O'Melia and Sabina Dhindsa, seniors at Monte Vista Highschool. In our Ethnic Studies class last year we were tasked with creating a transformational justice project that would benefit our community. We noticed a lack of diversity in the curriculum that we have been reading throughout our educational careers, so we decided to focus on changing the books our students read at an elementary school level, to ensure that children go through the early years of their life feeling understood and welcome.
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At diversireads, we are committed to providing parents and teachers with the resources to give their children access to a diverse range of books. All people should feel accepted and seen in the media they consume, and we are here to help. We give recommendations that encapsulate a wide range of perspectives and hope to increase representation for many marginalized communities. We intend to aid you in facilitating potentially difficult discussions that can accompany the topics introduced in some of these books.
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Overall, we hope to increase your understanding of why we must change the kinds of things we read and teach to our children, beginning from the ground up. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out through the provided email address. Happy reading!
sabina!
Hi! My name is Sabina Dhindsa, and I am a graduating Senior at Monte Vista High School. Growing up I always loved reading books, but never felt represented by them. Diversireads is a student lead iniative that works to fix just that. I'm excited to see what we can do this year, and how we can create a better education system for everyone.
caitlin!
Hi! My name is Caitlin O'Melia and I am a senior at Monte Vista High School. Reading has been a passion of mine from a young age. I want everyone to get the same enjoyment from reading that I do, but that will only happen if people feel represented in the books that they read. Many popular and classic books contain harmful stereotypes that are really damaging to people's identities and can normalize bigoted behavior in other people. Creating a diverse array of books changes the status quo and makes the world of reading a safe space for all.
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