Dr. Monique Campbell is the principal of The School for Integrated Learning. The School for Integrated Learning is located in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. It is a District 17 school and a Title I school. Dr. Campbell wrote the VITAL Libraries grant in order to carry out her vision for her school library. The school library is one where empathy is learned through exposure to reading books, students learn study habits and inquiry skills, they learn to be critical thinkers, to create, to imagine, to grow, laugh, and learn. We selected her school because of this strong vision and her deep love for her students.
A few years before the VITAL Libraries grant program became available, Dr. Campbell had written a Reso A grant in order to gut the room that would become the school library. The "before" photos below are what the library looked like during the demolition and renovation process.
The library during the renovation process.
More renovation.
The walls, ceiling, and floor have been redone and the furniture is in place.
Computers have been added.
The old card catalog by the old sink.
Garbage bags filled with packing materials from the boxes of books that arrived.
New furniture has arrived.
Unpacking the books.
The empty shelves about to be filled with new books.
New reading-area furniture was purchased with the VITAL grant funds.
New tables and chairs were purchased with the VITAL grant funds.
A panoramic view of the main area of the library.
The reading corner.
The entrance to the library on grand opening day!
New tables and chairs.
A close-up of some of the new books.
Panoramic view of the main instructional room of the library.
Anticipating big excitement on grand opening day!