LEXINGTON, Ky. — Winburn Middle School concluded the districtwide One School, One Book initiative with a family night celebration featuring performances from the school’s step team, a Taiwanese dance demonstration, Spanish presentations, and student discussions about the novel “Invisible” by Christina Diaz Gonzalez.
The Fayette County Public Schools literacy program, which launched in the fall, selected one book for each middle school centered on themes of belonging, community, or safety. Every student, teacher, administrator, and staff member—including custodians, cafeteria workers, and bus drivers—received a copy of their school’s selection.
“Invisible,” which follows multiple diverse and multilingual characters navigating middle school, resonated strongly with Winburn students. Eighth grader Zareya Hogan said her favorite aspect was seeing everyone get to know one another through shared reading. “Don’t judge based off looks, personality, or how they act because you don’t know what they’re going through,” she said, summarizing the novel’s central message.
Classmate Shukurani Amuri echoed the sentiment, noting that the book helped unite the school. “The book spoke to me because sometimes I feel a little left out,” she said.
As part of the initiative, Winburn students created culture quilts to celebrate the more than 12 languages and over two dozen countries represented on campus. Kari Patrick, Winburn’s administrative dean, praised the student response. “We’re celebrating all the cultures at Winburn. Our students absolutely connected with and loved this book!”
The one-book program aimed to promote adolescent literacy across the district. Some readers participated in small group discussions about themes, while others created hallway displays, wrote essays about main characters, or debated the merits of their school’s selection. Other middle schools in the district selected titles including “Restart” by Gordon Korman at Beaumont and Morton, “The Unteachables” also by Korman at Bryan Station and Tates Creek, and “Ghost” by Jason Reynolds at Southern Middle School.
Sources
This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Fayette County Public Schools. The original source is available at https://www.fcps.net/post-details/~board/fayette-county-public-schools-news/post/winburn-finds-meaning-in-invisible-book.
