For Back To School, A NYC Teacher Passionate About Diverse Literature Transforms Classroom Into A Hand-Painted Library

Danielle Monock, 8th grade ELA Master teacher and Literacy Coach at M.S. 137 America’s School of Heroes in Ozone Park, N.Y. plans to blow kids away on the first day of school and ignite their passion for reading by using some vinyl and a paintbrush. She’s transformed her classroom into a painted library of book titles students will study this year. “I wanted to bring the stories to life for the students, get them excited about the books we’ll be reading,” Monock said. “When kids are excited, they’re ripe for teaching!”

Danielle Monock, 8th Grade ELA Master Teacher, MS 137 (Ozone Park, NY)

The series of titles Monock has planned to read with students this year are curated by Project Lit, a grassroots national network of book groups that aims to get students excited about reading by highlighting diverse, high-interest, culturally relevant books. Monock, a Project Lit Chapter Leader, says the organization has transformed her students passion for reading which has always been a goal of hers since she began teaching in 2005. M.S. 137 is one of the largest public schools in New York City, with approximately 2,000 students. The school has a reputation for taking large strides to invigorate students’ learning experiences with field trips, book clubs, and even famous author visits. In May, NYT Best Selling Author Nic Stone visited the school and students welcomed her with crafts and activities they’d worked on for weeks, energizing their love and passion for Stone’s wildly popular bestseller, Dear Martin, a young adult contemporary novel about an Ivy League-bound African-American student named Justyce who becomes a victim of racial profiling. Monock also brings authors in to video chat with her students. “My students loved Dear Martin and I have no doubt this new batch of students will fall in love with the wide expanse of diverse stories we’ll be studying this year,” Monock said.

Danielle Monock, 8th Grade ELA Master Teacher, MS 137 (Ozone Park, NY)

The floor-to-ceiling painted wall of books in Monock’s classroom is nothing short of a masterpiece. Walking past the room without a double-take is near impossible. She says the painting took several days and “more hours than she can count” to complete. It’s no surprise teachers go above and beyond to serve their students, but this was an entire undertaking, a huge feat. When asked why she thought it was worth spending so much time during her summer vacation on this project, she answered, “I’m looking for any and every way to bring books alive, to foster a love of literacy.” Monock says the presence of diverse books in her classroom, and the movement in publishing to publish more books by marginalized voices is having a direct impact on her students. “Kids love seeing themselves on the page. They need that. They deserve it.”

Danielle Monock, 8th Grade ELA Master Teacher, MS 137 (Ozone Park, NY)

Monock says the presence of diverse literature is nurturing her students’ interest in reading. “I can already envision the conversations that will take place when the kids see this on the first day of school.” She gestured at the wall, laughing to herself. “They’re going to be dying to know which books they’ll be reading first. Kids will be excited to read and that’s everything to me. The end all be all: kids falling in love with reading. Access to diverse books is a huge part of that.” School starts for M.S. 137 students officially on September 5, 2019, and Mrs. Monock’s classroom is vividly colorful, painted and ready to transform another class of 8th graders into voracious, literary-loving, college-bound readers.