Andes Central School teachers Robin White and Morgan Sullivan recently received grants to purchase a large selection of books about, and written by, underrepresented populations across the globe for their classrooms. The grants were awarded by WIDE (Women for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity), a woman-identified, grassroots organization based in Delhi, NY that believes in promoting the inclusion and equality of all people through education, community outreach, and activism. According to the WIDE website, “Books are windows for children to the outside world; an opportunity to learn about someone else’s life. When children come into contact with someone ‘different’ from them, they can learn from them, and help to reduce stereotypes and assumptions about other cultures and populations.” Robin and Morgan plan to utilize this unique resource in many of their lessons and activities throughout the school year, and are considering inviting a speaker or performer from WIDE to come to their classrooms as well. This is one more example of how Andes Central School is “a small rural K-12 public school that thinks BIG”. ~