Last year, at a Belmont Middle and High School event, Foundation for Belmont Education (FBE) President Melissa McKenna noticed a “glaring” absence of books in the middle school’s library.
She said other parents that night expressed a similar concern, so she began a conversation with district administrators about how the FBE could help.
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“We had been looking for a special, larger project that we could do, partly because of funds we had available, which was the result of fewer grant requests coming in during the pandemic period,” McKenna said. “This was just so compelling because it allowed us to look at all of the libraries in the district and to identify the priority needs, which were the transition schools.”
When the middle school opened last fall, and seventh- and eighth-grade students moved into the new building, the library books appropriate for their age group remained at the Chenery Upper Elementary School.
“We’ve had some great donations at PTO for different heritage months … but the library in the middle school is the heart of what we do,” Belmont Middle School Principal Russ Kupperstein said. “We promote accessing stories and understanding others’ perspectives through literature, and exploration of students’ identities through literature. To not have a library stocked with books doesn’t have a middle school feel.”
Now, with the help of a $75,000 grant from the Foundation for Belmont Education, the new Belmont Middle School library will grow from its modest collection of roughly 200 books to upwards of 4,000. An additional $25,000 will allow the Chenery Upper Elementary School to purchase materials to supplement its collection.
“We’re really excited to purchase books that will be ready and accessible to students from the first day of school next year,” said Kupperstein.
According to Kupperstein, the process began with a consultant developing a proposed list of books to purchase. The district will review the titles to ensure the collection reflects the schools’ values and diversity. Once a collection is agreed upon, the books will be labeled by genre and delivered to the schools.
Had the grant not supported the purchase of the books, Kupperstein said the schools would likely have accumulated more books over time.
“We would have applied for grants and still would have sought PTO support,” he added. “We do have a line in the budget for library books, but the line in our operating budget for library books is more a sustaining amount of money. What this offers us is startup costs.”
According to the foundation’s website, the FBE, which marked its 30th anniversary in 2023, has provided more than $4.25 million in grants to educators and other staff supporting projects in the Belmont Public Schools.
Some past FBE-funded projects include $5,550 to Chenery Middle School for mental health literacy for eighth-graders, $63,000 districtwide in 2015-2017 for professional development in social-emotional learning, and $10,575 to Belmont High School for five iMac computers for digital art and animation.
McKenna emphasized that this was a “very special project.”
“The library system and literacy and reading is a priority in this community,” she said. “It’s fundamental for children and schools. It was important to the district and to the Foundation. … We’re thrilled to be able to support the community in this way, and the foundation is so grateful for the continued support of the community and its support of innovation for the schools, regardless of the district’s financial position.”