English department teacher Meg Gauley stands in Room 221 with a copy of “Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi. Along with University of Georgia Department of Language and Literacy Education Professor Melisa Cahnmann-Taylor, Gauley wrote and won the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read grant. “(Cahnmann-Taylor) had so many great ideas (for the grant), and I could take those and massage them into things that are realistic and would work for our high school,” Gauley said. “I’ve always been interested in grant writing, so having her reach out with this amazing opportunity was very special.” Photo by Isabella Gresham
The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read grant awarded Clarke Central High School with $20,000 to purchase “Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi for the 2024-25 school year.
University of Georgia Department of Language and Literacy Education Professor Melisa Cahnmann-Taylor and Clarke Central High School English department teacher Meg Gauley won the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read grant in July, which will be implemented during the 2024-25 school year.
The grant allotted $20,000 towards purchasing copies of the book “Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi as well as funding multiple book clubs and other events to expose students, parents and community members to the book. Through collaborating with the Athens-Clarke County Library, Cahnmann-Taylor worked with Gauley and ACCL Branch Manager Trudi Green to select the book, write and ultimately organize the grant.
“Trudi and I looked across the (grant) list. I had just read (‘Homegoing,’) so I knew it was outstanding. I always like to get a book that I am excited about so that I can help other people be excited about (that) book,” Cahnmann-Taylor said.
A video of the author of “Homegoing”, Yaa Gyasi describing the book and her hopes for readers who receive it as a part of the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read grant is shown. Clarke Central High School English department teacher Meg Gauley combined efforts with University of Georgia Department of Language and Literacy Education Professor Melisa Cahnmann-Taylor to submit for the grant. “It was fun for me to work with (Cahnmann-Taylor) because she has such an extensive background in grant writing and academia and for our K-12 world to combine with her world,” Gauley said. Video fair use of Arts Midwest
CCHS sophomore Jacqueline Braun, who takes 10th grade Lit/Comp Honors, found the book to not only be a history lesson but also an emotion-packed experience.
The novel “Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi sits on a desk in Room 221 on Sept. 18. Clarke Central High School sophomore Jacqueline Braun found “Homegoing” to provide many applicable messages to history and day-to-day life. “(The message of “Homegoing”) is important because stories like this not only connect us to history, but also allow us to reflect on ourselves in relation to it,” Braun said. Photo by Isabella Gresham
“Stories like Homegoing are important because they encourage its audience to not allow history to repeat itself, and to emphasize the importance of empathy and human connection,” Braun said. “Yaa Gyasi does a great job at conveying emotion which, at times, makes it almost painful to read.”
Cahnmann-Taylor aimed for the grant to come to CCHS as a way to gather the community together through a shared interest. One way this is being done is through five upcoming book clubs at CCHS and around Athens.
“The goal (of the grant) is to get many people in Athens to read the same wonderful book and be able to have new conversations that are inspired by that piece of literature across differences,” Cahnmann-Taylor said. “A lot of times, (we’re) isolated from each other by age, race (and) social group, but if you read the same book, you have a starting point for conversation.”
