Shawnee Middle School Librarian Carol Jones has been selected as a National Book Foundation Teacher Fellow for the 2023-24 school year.
Out of scores of applications from across the country, Jones was selected as one of eight fellows based on her teaching experience, proposed project, and dedication to her students and families, said Ruth Dickey, executive director of the National Book Foundation.
“We are proud of Carol for being selected for this prestigious fellowship,” said Keely Tolin, SMS principal. “Of course, our students will be the real beneficiaries because they will have even more resources to help them become lifelong readers and learners.”
Jones is the only educator from Oklahoma to receive the fellowship this year.
As part of Jones’s selection as a fellow, SMS will receive a $2,000 book buying budget to provide National Book Award-honored titles for students to enjoy.
The NBF Teacher Fellowship supports and celebrates 6th-12th grade teachers using innovative methods to make reading for pleasure a part of their student’s school day experience. Over the course of the school year, Jones will be implementing a reading program of her own design that focuses on the joy of reading, helping students find and read books that speak to them, and supporting the development of lifelong reading habits. Jones and her students may also participate in the 2023 National Book Awards Teen Press Conference—an annual literary event curated just for teens—and hear from the five 2023 Finalists for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.
The NBF Teacher Fellowship is fully funded by the National Book Foundation, and the program is offered at no cost to both schools and students of the selected teachers. Along with the book-buying budget, fellows receive a separate individual stipend for their participation. Fellows will also participate in professional development opportunities, meet National Book Award-honored authors, and visit New York City later this spring to attend the 2024 5 Under 35 Celebration.
The mission of the National Book Foundation, presenter of the National Book Awards, is to celebrate the best literature published in the United States, expand its audience, and ensure that books have a prominent place in our culture.