Toledo library, Ability Center partner for DREAM project

Oct. 4—Through a partnership between the Toledo Lucas County Public Library and the Ability Center, students across northwest Ohio will have access to a variety of books by, for, and about people with disabilities.

The project, called DREAM for Disability Representation, Education and Awareness in Media, was announced during a news conference on Monday.

Participating schools include: Fairfield Elementary, Holloway Elementary, Lake Erie West ESC, Perrysburg Schools, Swanton Schools, Toledo Public Schools, Washington Local Schools, Waterville Primary, Westside Montessori, Whiteford Elementary, and Whitehouse Primary.

"DREAM will foster a wide variety of culture, respect, and belonging," said Tim Harrington, outgoing executive director of Ability Center.

The stories in these books address the challenges of growing up with a disability, Mr. Harrington said, and will allow students without disabilities to understand their peers' experiences.

"We believe that sharing these books will contribute to our community's understanding of persons with disabilities and lead naturally to acts of inclusion," he said.

Each book provided to schools as part of the project will have a DREAM sticker on the inside cover to make it easily identifiable for students. The project will also include a reading challenge component, and participating classrooms will receive a toolkit with extension activities.

The goal is always to support children in reading more, said TLCPL Executive Director Jason Kucsma, but for this project specifically, it's also to help normalize different experiences, in this case the experiences of people with disabilities.

"The more kids read, the more it expands their horizons and their perspectives of the world," Mr. Kucsma said.

Kadee Anstadt, superintendent of Washington Local Schools, said every kindergarten, first, second, and third grade classroom in the district will be participating in the DREAM project.

The books will be part of the morning meeting curriculum and be read aloud to students, she said. They will also be part of the regular school library, so students can revisit the stories as desired.

"Iron sharpens iron," Ms. Anstadt said and emphasized that working together is how society moves forward.

Washington Local has partnered with the Ability Center in the past, she said, and is working with the organization on developing the district's new schools. Schools are the heart of a community, Ms. Anstadt said, and working with the Ability Center was just a natural partnership.

"When we're changing minds with 5-year-olds, when we're setting a tone with 5-year-olds, that's when we change the world," she said.

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