Black Authors in the Classroom

Black Authors in the Classroom

From New Leaf Counseling

New Leaf Counseling is starting a campaign to give sets of books by great black authors to local and state high school English classrooms. Donate a little towards the help of a set or donate the funds for a full set!

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Recent Updates

Update #14

about 3 years ago

Another book set to another teacher! Ashley Vanbibber received "Things Fall Apart"

This book will inspire. This book will open minds. This book will create change.
I am so very thankful to New Leaf Counseling and their beautifully generous gift of a classroom set of this book and a lesson plan for my students!

More Info

Here are the current book sets we are buying for the classroom.  Check our facebook page for updates and photos of the books and teachers receiving them in their classroom! The average size of the American high school classroom is 27 students.  New Leaf wants to put 30 copies of each book into our local English classes!(https://www.facebook.com/newleafcou) 

Current books and goal levels: 

  • The Color Purple by Alice Walker - $200 per set 
  • Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe - $240 per set - Goal Met 240 out of 240 ! 
  • Beloved by Toni Morrison - $300 per set 
  • Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston - $360 per set 
  • I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou - $195 per set 
  • The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas - $300 per set 
  • Not Without Laughter by Langston Hughes - $360 per set 
  • Native Son by Richard Wright - $300 per set 
  • Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup - $240 per set 
  • Rasin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry - $210 per set 
  • The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead - $390 per set
  • Born a Crime by Trevor Noah - $240 per set  

Each book is priced via amazon.com or BN.com

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Help New Leaf raise $3,500 by making a donation.

New Leaf Counseling posted a new update:
about 3 years ago

Update #15

Another book set to another teacher! Ashley Vanbibber received "Things Fall Apart"

This book will inspire. This book will open minds. This book will create change.
I am so very thankful to New Leaf Counseling and their beautifully generous gift of a classroom set of this book and a lesson plan for my students!

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New Leaf Counseling posted a new update:
about 3 years ago

Update #14

We have another book set reaching another teacher ! Congrats to Jodi Pitts

I teach at Central HS and plan to use Dear Martin in my ENG II Honors class this fall / spring. It will be a wonderful way to integrate more black and female voices into my curriculum. I am considering reading this book with my students immediately after we read Of Mice and Men, and juxtaposing the plights of Justyce with that of Crooks.

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New Leaf Counseling posted a new update:
over 3 years ago

Update #13

The first book set has arrived to a classroom ! Mr. Vega posted this updated: Thanks to a GENEROUS donation, this fall Mr. Vega’s 9th grade GHS English class will be reading Born A Crime! Trevor Noah’s account of growing up in apartheid South Africa is an inspiring story that will raise cultural consciousness when we all need it most!

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New Leaf Counseling posted a new update:
over 3 years ago

Update #12

We wanted to give another shout out to the wonderful Jennifer J and Kathy D for donating a full set of "Raisin in the Sun". We are currently matching this great play up with the perfect teacher and classroom and will update everyone on what lucky teacher gets this set !

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New Leaf Counseling posted a new update:
over 3 years ago

Update #11

We wanted to give a shout out to a kind person who donated a set of "The Hate U Give" New Leaf is finding the perfect fit for this book set and an update on its home will be posted very soon !

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New Leaf Counseling posted a new update:
over 3 years ago

Update #10

We want to thank Kate F. for donating a full set of "Born a Crime." This set will go to a Glendale English classroom !

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New Leaf Counseling posted a new update:
over 3 years ago

Update #9

It's been busy around our awesome fundraiser for Black Authors in high school English classrooms. There are so many shout outs to give it's been hard to keep up. Please know that each and every donation is felt and New Leaf Counseling is extremely thankful for the people who support this great cause ! So far we have been able to ship books out to 5 classrooms. That means we've put 5 sets of books in teachers' hands. Lets keep up this kind work !

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New Leaf Counseling posted a new update:
over 3 years ago

Update #8

We were able to purchase our second set of books, "Why The Caged Bird Sings" all in thanks to our wonderful donor Tracy S who wanted a classroom to get this wonderful piece of literary history. This set is going to Mr. Brian Vega, for his high school English classroom in Springfield !

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New Leaf Counseling posted a new update:
over 3 years ago

Update #7

Thank you to everyone so far. We hope that we can keep this up ! We were able to purchase a set of "Things Fall Apart" for Ms. Vanbibber's classroom in Festus , MO ! An anonymous donor wanted to support this book set.

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New Leaf Counseling posted a new update:
over 3 years ago

Update #6

Here's a peek at some of the teachers we hope to help with our Black Authors in the classroom program. Lets help support teachers. They help give our community's children a voice.
Mr. Brian Vega at Glendale
Mr. Mike Hylton at Parkview
Ms. Jodi Pitts at Central
Mr. Bob Lynch at Glendale
Ms. Tina Linsey at Hillcrest
Ms. Shellie Foltz at Glendale
Ms. Ashley Vanbibber all the way in Festus, MO.
Books will begin to ship out after June 15 and continue to ship out as fund are received.
If you know of a teacher that would like to take part, please have them e mail us at [email protected]

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New Leaf Counseling posted a new update:
over 3 years ago

Update #5

Our fundraiser is well underway ! A shout out to Tracy S for donating a full set of "Why the Caged Bird Sings". Thank you Tracy S for your support. Check out our facebook page, www.facebook.com/newleafcou. , for shout outs to all of our amazing donors !

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New Leaf Counseling posted a new update:
over 3 years ago

Update #4

We have our first 30 copy book set paid for ! $240 will go towards buying a set of "Things Fall Apart" These books will find a home in Ms. Vanbiber's classroom in Festus, Missouri

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New Leaf Counseling posted a new update:
over 3 years ago

Update #3

Donate a little or donate a lot. Every donation helps us get closer to providing a set of books to local high school English teachers and their classrooms. Check back often for weekly updates. If you would like your donation to go to a specific book set that is listed, please E-Mail us at [email protected] or leave us a comment in the comments section. We will be updating progress that each book receives !

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New Leaf Counseling posted a new update:
over 3 years ago

Update #2

New Leaf Counseling keeps the donators in the loop. We can't wait to start posting pictures of happy teachers receiving their books ! New Leaf will also provide approved free lesson plans to the teachers for each book set they receive.

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