They’re an unlikely combination — the “library ladies” from Oakland’s Temple Sinai and the students and teachers from Longfellow Elementary School.
But they work together exceedingly well. In a matter of months “People of the Book” volunteers have galvanized the transformation of a non-functioning school library into a thriving space with books, tutors and literary activities.
“It was perfect timing of several things coming together,” said Teri Appleby, the sisterhood president. “This project started falling in place very quickly.”
It started last spring when Sinai Rabbi Steven Chester offered a 10-page list of possible projects to the temple’s social action committee and sisterhood.
The groups opted for a literacy project in a local public school.
“We’re a commuter congregation,” explained Chester. “Few congregants live in the neighborhood of the temple, but we still wanted to [serve] a school in the [area].”
Judy Zollman, who works in the adult literacy program at the Oakland Public Library, agreed to chair the project and selected Longfellow, the elementary school nearest the temple.
Longfellow serves approximately 400 kindergartners through fifth-graders — about 93 percent of them African-American and many living below the poverty level.
“It was really exciting to have someone say ‘we want to adopt you,'” said principal Paula Andrada. “It was the first time in the eight years that I’ve been here [that anyone offered to volunteer]. It was like a godsend.”
Zollman commented on the school’s caring atmosphere: “It’s a wonderful school,” she said. “It just needs more.”
To determine what the school needed, teachers provided a prioritized list: At the top was making the school library usable. It had not had functioned fully for years. Last year, the space was used largely for storage. The books were in poor condition, disorganized and outdated.
Teachers provided “a 19-page wish list of books” from the state of California plus a 10-page supplement of others, Appleby said . “Mainly they wanted social studies and science books.”
They also needed tutors, especially for third-graders.
A letter went out to everyone in the Reform congregation seeking volunteers, contributions and book donations.
The response was overwhelming, said Zollman. “It was like having a birthday party every day.” More than 50 people offered to help. Donations included $8,600 plus hundreds of books.
“It warms my heart to see so many people who care so much about what’s going on in the local community,” she added.
Every Friday during the summer, volunteers helped ready the library for the fall opening of school. They cleared non-library supplies from the room, cleaned shelves, created a “story corner” and organized books. Volumes in poor condition were sent for repair, or discarded. Posters of Whoopi Goldberg, Spike Lee and other notables promoting reading were laminated and hung on the walls.
Under the direction of several librarians who belong to Sinai, books were carded, categorized and catalogued — a tremendously time-consuming task that will continue into the future. Donated books have increased the library’s collection by 10 to 20 percent.
Librarian Rubi Abrams drafted library procedures and worked with teachers to develop and prioritize a book list.
“Over half the kids are reading below grade level,” said Abrams. Finding books the older child would find appealing and understandable was crucial. “We want the kids to buy in,” she said. “If the reading is over their heads, they’re not getting the information and they’ll turn off.”
After establishing accounts with vendors and getting credit, Abrams placed the first order for 100 books. She plans to follow with more.
To train tutors, the city of Oakland provided the “perfect solution,” said Zollman, through former Mayor Elihu Harris’ literacy initiative. More than 20 temple members, young and old, have taken the training.
On the first day of school, each student received a book to keep. “For some kids it was their first book,” said Appleby.
Each received another in December.
Though far from complete, the library is fully operational. Classes visit regularly, a volunteer does a weekly story time, hundreds of books circulate every week and a few students have already gotten in trouble for staying in the library when they should have been in class.
The school hired a part-time library aide, and Sinai volunteers fill in the gaps.
“Kids are coming in really excited. The teachers are thanking us,” said Zollman, remarking that the kids love the popular fiction selections.
The tutoring program began in January. Every third-grader who needs tutoring can now receive it.
And as the project grows, so does the congregation’s involvement. B’nai mitzvah students talk about the project in their speeches and have done book drives. At their Chain of Tradition dinner with the confirmation class, students used books as centerpieces, then gave them to the school.
B’nai B’rith held a drive, collecting a few hundred children’s books.
In November, Andrada and three teachers from Longfellow attended Friday night Shabbat services and addressed the congregation.
The People of the Book committee plans to continue working with Longfellow for years to come, but also hopes the project will serve as a model for others.
And ideas for ways to expand the project keep flowing — like bringing in authors, adding a CD ROM, taking a field trip to a public library, starting a book club for the older students and getting high-schoolers in the East Bay Midrashot involved in tutoring.
“It’s a rabbi’s dream come true when you conceptualize and help create a project and your congregants take it over and make it a success,” said Chester. “To me that’s what a rabbi does. He or she is a facilitator bringing Jewish values to every facet of life and encouraging his or her congregants to put them into action.”