P.S. Jones Middle School recently finished a book, focusing on character traits, including anti-bullying.

The school as a whole started its “One School, One Book,” initiative in January, giving its students a close look at issues like anti-bullying and other character education traits. Each day, students in all grades across the school read the book, “Wonder,” by R. J. Palacio, a first-time author. The book follows the story of a severely physically handicapped student, Auggie, who experiences the transition from being home-schooled to attending middle school.

Dawn Landen, a sixth-grade language arts teacher, said the book gave students a break from their normal routine of reading and math remediation at the end of the day. It also provided lessons that students learned through reading the book. Students were able to access a shared drive online that contained pictures, links to websites, songs and other content related to the book that allowed for better understanding, as well as a little bit of fun. For example, the handicapped character in the book was fond of Star Wars so students at the school were able to access photos and other content related to Star Wars in order to better understand the character, Landen said.

“I think I’ve seen more of a change in just the literacy part of it,” Landen said. “This gave them the opportunity to do something a little different that I think they enjoyed a little bit more. It wasn’t just ‘read, read, read,’ but there was fun stuff to go along with it, too, to help teach the lessons of the book.”

Several students like sixth-grader Zoey Solano commented about their perspectives of the book and how it affected relations between students in the school.

“I learned to be nice to people that aren’t exactly the same as you and not be mean to them because they are different,” Solano said. “Some people did do that at our school, and I think they listened to the book and learned to not be mean.”

Solano’s classmate, Miller Lee, cited an example of a fellow classmate, who has changed his ways since reading the book.

“This one kid in my class used to pick on another kid because he was small, and he doesn’t do it anymore,” Lee said. “He used to and he got into trouble, but he just hasn’t done anything else since we read the book.”

Another sixth-grader, Reanna Little, said the book contained ideas that taught the students valuable lessons. Banners were hung around the school, mainly in the cafeteria, reminding students to be courteous of others regardless of their differences in looks, abilities or ideas.

Landen said based on what she’s seen since the students read the book, she has seen less cases of bullying and discrimination. The book, as intended, has unified the school and promoted character trait education through the student body before the students age out to high school, widely known as a tough period for adolescents. Sixth-grader Emma Waters said the book was effective in the fight against bullying, which, in her opinion, gets worse as kids get older.

“When people are bullied, it makes them feel bad, and it can lower their self-esteem,” Waters said. “The higher grade you are, the worse bullying can get.”

The school will continue its “One School, One Book” program over the next two years, pending finding sources of funding to buy books for each student, Landen said. Next year, the school plans to have students read “Home of the Brave,” a book by Katherine Applegate that follows the story of a Sudanese boy that comes to live with his aunt in Minnesota. The school has applied for grants to aid in purchasing books for the students, but still needs additional support and contributions, much like it did with purchasing “Wonder,” Landen said.

To donate to P.S. Jones’ “One School, One Book” program, contact the school at 252-946-0874.