Teaming-Up for Diversity and Literacy Education

At McGraw-Hill Education we know first-hand the power that literacy can have and the importance of teaching tolerance and diversity inside and outside the classroom. Earlier this year we announced an initiative to help B'nai B'rith bring the Diverse Minds Youth Writing Challenge to Columbus, Ohio -- the home for our K-12 operations.

With separate contests already established in major metro areas including New York City and Washington D.C. Metro, Diverse Minds is a writing and illustration contest to encourage K-12 students to celebrate tolerance and diversity. In addition to the wining students receiving a $5000 scholarship, each contest's winning books are published and also made into e-books available for free download on iTunes and Amazon.

This spring student teams from throughout central Ohio submitted their authored and illustrated books for review by a judge's panel including Dan Good, superintendent of Columbus City Schools; Tom Katzenmeyer, president and CEO of the Greater Columbus Arts Council; and Cabot Rea, NBC4 anchor and station leader of Battle Against Bullying. The 2015 Columbus region Diverse Minds Youth Writing Challenge winner was “The Very Special Candy,” written and illustrated by Amanda Ba and Meghan McCloskey from Olentangy Orange High School in Lewis Center, Ohio.

In addition to promoting Diverse Minds throughout Columbus, McGraw-Hill Education helped raise funds for B'nai B'rith to grow and expand the contest in years to come. School Senior Vice President Lisa Carmona also acknowledged the student winners during the awards ceremony, speaking on the importance of tolerance and literacy in today's ever-connected education environment.