- November 7, 2024
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The Belle Terre Elementary School faculty introduced their students to a number of Black History tales from African-American authors through its inaugural African-American Read In on Thursday, Feb. 23, at BTES.
Principal Dr. Terence Culver sought the assistance of community leaders who read to classrooms. Those who responded included Mayor Melissa Holland, school board members, Flagler County Sheriff’s Office deputies, firemen, retired educators, published authors and others.
“The community really stepped up to the plate; the students and the faculty loved it,” Culver said. “I’m hoping they took away cultural diversity.”
Matanzas basketball coach Donald Lockhart read “Salt in His Shoes” — a children’s book about Michael Jordan — to Mrs. Bevacqua’s third-grade class. During his reading, he displayed a few of his moves to reenact some of Jordan’s many skills.
“Anytime you can read to students and make an impact in their lives is great,” he said. “We talked a lot determination, which made Jordan successful and can make them successful too. This book was not just informational for the kids; it was informational and helpful for myself as well.”
Several Sixth-graders were selected to help the volunteers navigate their way throughout school campus. Among them were Zander Zaidel, who spoke of his joy in learning more about Black History.
“I think it’s really cool,” he said, “because we all should know about important things that have happened, like what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and many, many more accomplished.”
With the first African-American Read In completed, Culver is already anticipating a second one for next February.
“We actually turned away a lot of potential readers because of the short notice,” he said, “but, we’ll have 100+ next year. I also think all principals should take the step to introduce culture into our schools. Our schools are not made up of one culture. We have to bring diversity into our schools.”