Our stories are human-centered, emotionally-tinged, and written especially for our program in order to connect with relevant middle school topics, foster empathy and reflection, and support literacy skills. Literacy and social emotional learning have a symbiotic relationship and so integrating SEL into literacy can lead to more positive student outcomes.

Every unit is centered around this series of human interest stories. These compelling stories tell real-life struggles, triumphs, regrets, and reckonings all aligned to the unit skill. Stories feature a variety of perspectives from individuals with diverse backgrounds and life experiences. “Multicultural literature can provide opportunities for meeting many goals of multicultural education, where voices interact and students reflect, think creatively and critically, increase cultural awareness, decrease ethnocentrism, and create a global perspective” (Cliff & Miller, 1997). Research shows that multicultural literature can act as both a mirror and window for students (Glazier & Seo, 2005). By hearing stories from individuals with diverse abilities, beliefs, and backgrounds, students are able to reflect on experiences that both mirror their own lives and are distinctly different from what they know.