Join Executive Director Dr. Kathy Wiebke for the Executive Director’s Book Club. The books we discuss are recommended by teachers and leaders just like you! Four meeting dates, four different books. You choose: join us for one or all four! Each meeting is $15 and includes the book. Be sure to note each meeting's registration deadline.

We kick off the new school year on August 16 with the book The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee. This New York Times bestseller was published in February 2021 and dives deep into the zero-sum paradigm, the idea that progress for some of us must come at the expense of others. McGhee’s specialty is the American economy and, in this book, she explores why it fails the American public. This is a story of why public goods, like our schools, have become private luxuries.

On October 26, join us to discuss Think Again by Adam Grant, a recommendation from one of our regular book club participants. Think Again examines the critical art of rethinking–learning to question our own opinions and open the minds of others. Think Again provides the reader the invitation to let go of ideas and opinions that are no longer serving us well. The book reveals that we don’t have to believe everything we think or internalize everything we feel. Unlearning and relearning requires us to choose courage over comfort… lessons that are more important than ever.

When we meet on March 31, we will discuss Homeland Elegies: A Novel by Ayad Akhtar. Homeland Elegies blends fact and fiction to tell a story in our post-September 11 world. This book tells the story of Muslim immigrants and their American-born children. At the heart of this book is a story of a father, son, and the country they both call home.

We will close out the year on June 29 with the book, Huddle by CNN journalist Brooke Baldwin. Huddle is an uplifting book about women and how they lean on one another. Whether in the face of adversity or working together for a better tomorrow, women have found a source of strength and power when huddling together. All are welcome to join in this discussion about the strength we gather from the women who surround us.

Participants will:

• Gain a deeper understanding of how systemic racism impacts us all while learning the benefits that come when people work together across to race divide.
• Learn how to rethink long held beliefs that are no longer serving their purpose.
• Explore the story of Muslim immigrants and their American-born children in a country they both call home.
• Unpack the stories of women who lean on one another and unlock the collective power to bring about change.