When I was at NCTE last month, I heard from a shocking number of teachers that their use of one or both of my nonfiction narratives, The 57 Bus and Accountable, was either being challenged by parents or second-guessed by administrators who were worried about being challenged by parents. These are books that were written in the hope that they could be used by teachers as a tool for having important conversations. I have heard from literally hundreds of teachers over the years who have used my books to do precisely that. What they tell me is that the resulting conversations were profound, moving, and eye-opening for all involved.
But to get to that point, you need buy-in from the community, particularly parents who may fear that the topics are too controversial or too difficult or too mature for their child. What I hear over and over again is that schools that engage directly with their school communities around my books have been able to get the necessary buy-in from their students' families and thus have even richer conversations that also involve parents. Parents who are adamantly opposed to their child reading my book can opt out, confident that other arrangements will be made for their student. This is fine too. Open dialogue and transparency doesn't mean you get everyone to agree with you. But it does mean that you don't allow one or two families to make decisions for everyone.
So, how do you get that buy in? Below you'll see what I believe is a model letter home, written by Grant Althouse, the principal at Kent Middle School in Kentfield, CA. Kent did an All-School Read of Accountable with their 7th and 8th graders, and from what I saw when I spoke at their school recently, they handled everything beautifully. After I asked his permission to share the letter, Grant graciously offered to be a resource to other schools considering using Accountable and to share some of the things Kent MS did to support teachers, students, and parents. If you want to speak with him directly, please use the Contact link on this website and I will provide the introduction.
October 29, 2024
Greetings 7th and 8th Grade Families,
This year, Kent Middle School plans to read the book Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed by Dashka Slater as our All School Read for 7th and 8th grade students. Our 5th and 6th grade students will be reading the book Finally Heard by Kelly Yang. Both books explore the impact of social media use and addiction on adolescents and teens, a timely topic that is due for attention in our middle school community The purpose of this note is to introduce the book Accountable to our school community, provide the rationale for Kent choosing the book this year, and to caution parents/guardians about some of the content within the text and explain how we will navigate through the content with our students.
Accountable is a thought-provoking book that explores the complexities of online behavior, bullying, and accountability among adolescents and teens. It recounts a real-life incident from 2017 where a high school student in Albany, California created a racist Instagram page that contained highly offensive and hateful posts, that was ‘followed’ and ‘liked’ by a number of peers. The book examines the consequences for both the victims and perpetrators, diving deep into issues of ethics, responsibility, and the impact of social media on real life. Through multiple perspectives, Slater helps readers understand the motivations and pressures that influence teen behavior, while also exploring the concepts of implied consent, bystanding, allyship, and advocacy in the social media world. On January 22, 2024, Accountable won the American Library Association Award for 2024 excellence in nonfiction for young adults, a national award that honors the best nonfiction books for young adult readers.
While I wish it wasn’t relevant for our students to learn about the incident outlined in the book, unfortunately, we have discovered over the years that racist and hateful language is present in our school community as well, and we are doing everything in our power to address it. In 2023/24 we administered a school safety survey to learn students' self-reported sense of physical and emotional safety at school. The results of that survey are linked here for your reference. Important findings from this survey reveal that 78% of last year’s 7th graders encountered a racist ‘joke’ at least once a month while almost 30% of last year’s 8th graders encountered racist ‘jokes’ almost every day or multiple times a day. All grades last year reported that the most common places to hear racist and/or hurtful language are at school or online with school being the number one location for all grade levels (78% of 7th graders and 72% of 8th graders) and online being the second most common location for all grade levels (52% of 7th graders and 65% of 8th graders). As you will see in this linked video produced by our Student Led Anti-Racism Movement group (SLAM!), our students attempted to teach other students at our school some of the background, history, and impact of terms like the n-word, anti-LGBTQIA+ language, ableist language, and anti-Semitic language in response to incidents at our school surrounding these concepts. Further, TUHSD, the High School district that receives our students following middle school encountered much turmoil during the 2023/24 school year as the district and fellow students responded to the sharing of a video of white high school students using the n-word.
It would be ideal if our community’s middle school was sheltered from the racial turmoil and misunderstanding that plagues our society at this time, but unfortunately the above examples suggest that we are very much experiencing an impact. While some of our 7th and 8th graders do not have personal devices or their own social media accounts, any student who is friends with another student with a phone and/or social media has access to social media. Reading a book like Accountable provides a safe space to introduce difficult, real concepts in a structured and supported environment with adult facilitation and guidance before students experience complicated topics like this to navigate on their own in real life with their peers.
Accountable does contain a content warning for content that may be deemed inappropriate for young readers. Profanity is regularly used by teens in the book including 'f--k,' 's--t,' 'a--hole,' 'bitch,' and ‘hell.' The book also has references to teen drug use, thoughts of suicide, child abuse, physical violence, and descriptions of racist images. The age recommendation is 12-18 for many online bookstores (Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Linden Tree) and some publishers (Macmillan), though a Common Sense Media reviewer recommends the book for ages 14+. Kent Middle School does not promote the use of profane language nor the teaching of unnecessary controversial content, yet recognizes our students’ ability to understand context and the complex realities that require nuanced and intentional teaching to address complicated issues during unprecedented times.
We plan to approach sensitive content in the book cautiously and intentionally. We will be reading the book by 7th and 8th grade advisory groups, and advisory teachers will be reading the book aloud to students utilizing a teaching and discussion guide that will prompt teachers to substitute offensive words and pause to provide context, check for understanding, and respond to student questions. When asked for feedback, our teaching team universally supported moving forward with Accountable for our students, given that the right support and time is provided to do this well. An introductory video composed and recorded by assistant principal Ms. Holmes and I will introduce the text to our 7th and 8th graders, provide some context for why we are reading the book now, and set expectations regarding the manner in which our students engage with the content, their teachers, and each other around the book.
We believe that we can work together to ensure that each 7th and 8th grader learns valuable insights from experiencing and discussing Accountable, insights that may not only improve climate and interactions in and around our school, but also lessons that may shape online communication and behavior in profound ways going forward. That being said, for families who may not be ready for their child to read a book with the content I’ve described, we will have a 7th and 8th grade group reading the book Ultraviolet by Aida Salazar as an alternate choice. If you request to have your child read this book instead of Accountable please contact me directly and we will include your child in the alternate group.
The Kent All School Read has been intentionally chosen each year to address timely topics in our community and the world. In 2018 we read Refugee by Alan Gratz during the Syrian refugee crisis. In 2019 we read The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba when young climate activists like Greta Thunburg’s voices were being elevated worldwide. In 2020, we read This Promise of Change by JoAnn Allen Boyce for a look at the history of school desegregation following George Floyd’s death. In 2021 we read My Underground American Dream by Julissa Arce during a time when immigration policy gripped the attention of many Americans. In 2022 we read Rolling Warrior by Judy Heumann, which provided us an opportunity to learn more about disability rights, and in 2023 we read Turtle Boy by Evan Wolkenstein, our first foray into a fictional text for our All School Read about resilience and overcoming adversity. This year Finally Heard and Accountable will allow us to harness national attention on youth phone and social media use to help our children learn to be their best selves both in person and online.
Our All School Read 2024 will conclude on Friday, December 13th with an author visit with Dashka Slater, one visit for 5th/6th graders and one for 7th/8th graders. Ms. Slater’s visit will focus on how an investigative journalist and writer gathers facts and stories to compose a work of narrative nonfiction like Accountable. The themes of social media use and online mistreatment of others will be discussed as a part of both presentations, keeping in mind that our 5th/6th graders, and some 7th/8th graders, will not be familiar with some of the more advanced content from Accountable. Additionally, we will be hosting a principal’s coffee on Friday morning, December 13th from 8:45 to 9:45 am for a discussion between Dashka Slater and interested parents in our community on similar themes as the student assemblies.
Thank you for your partnership as we work to prepare our children to thrive in the 21st-century world they will inherit from us. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have about the content of this message.
Grant Althouse, Principal