By Michelle McGrievey, Hoboken HS Media Specialist

Pearson Publishing has a large office in Hoboken, NJ and their staff have a volunteer day every year during which they reach out to assist in the local community. In 2016 our district had a lot of Pearson employees help with painting, planting and reading to elementary students, but at the high school level we decided ask them to participate in a book discussion. My vice principal asked me to coordinate it within the school so I rounded up ten students for the project. We read The Pact: Three Young Men Make a Promise and Fulfill a Dream, and so did three Pearson employees. After reading it, we were invited to lunch at Pearson’s office and held a discussion. It went great and I thought we were done, but then the folks at Pearson said they wanted to do it again. We are in now in our third year and just discussed our seventh book with them, Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon. As students graduate, I find replacements from among the incoming students, keeping the number around ten kids each year. It has been a great way for us to create a connection with an international company, and to have a forum for our kids to connect with adults over literature!