Well-known author and educator Sharon Draper will visit Barberton Middle School Tuesday to speak to more than 1,200 students about her adult literature novels.
“We wanted to expose them to as much as possible,” said Shelly Habegger, academic coach for Barberton City Schools. “The kids do a lot of reading here and they wanted an author to come in and talk about it.”
The author will give back-to-back, hour-long presentations in the morning, one at 8:15 a.m. to the seventh and eighth grade and another at 9:45 a.m. to the fifth and sixth grade.
Draper will also conduct a reading workshop from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. for a small group of students from all grade levels, chosen by teachers based on their knowledge of the author’s books.
Book signings are available for students from 12:15 p.m. to 12:50 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the school library.
This event is only open to Barberton Middle School students, as there are “too many kids, too little time,” Habegger said.
Teacher Andrea Tomer wrote a Garlen and Ruth (GAR) grant to fund the author’s visit.
Draper, a Cincinnati native, is a New York Times bestselling author and was honored at the White House six times. She has won the Coretta Scott King Literary Award five times and represented the U.S. in Moscow for a book festival.
For more information, contact Shelly Habegger at 330-714-9626 or shabegger@barbertonschools.org.
