It started as an audacious idea: What if a group of students at a Philly high school that never had its own library created one from scratch?If it seems far-fetched — the Philadelphia School District in 2023-24 reported having the equivalent of just two full-time certified school librarians among its 216 schools, a ratio experts say is possibly the worst in the country — you haven’t met the students of Kensington Health Sciences Academy.The DreamEscape Library was born a little over a year ago, when the KHSA student government advisers challenged teens to come up with a service project that would positively change their community. The kids mulled over several options, then zeroed in on one that felt perfect.“We all grew up without a library,” said Akeem Mack, now a KHSA senior. “That had an effect on a lot of kids. Teachers assigned a book, and people wouldn’t read it, because people didn’t like to read.”‘You need a book!’In a neighborhood high school in a historically underfunded school system, getting from what-if to grand opening was no small feat.The library got started with a $1,000 seed grant from the Philly Service Award, which works with the nonprofit Herb It Forward Foundation and Drexel University to encourage students to improve Philadelphia. There was no money for staff or space, but the students vowed to be the librarians themselves and to start, they pushed a single cart of books around.“There’s a lot of areas in Philly where they give out free books,” said Angie Medina, a senior. “We used any type of resources that came into our hands.”The first few volumes came from teachers’ classroom collections. The students gathered more slowly but surely — general fiction, graphic novels, fantasy, romance. Every book had to be stamped by hand, entered into the electronic catalog, and reinforced with tape.“We started off with our small little genres that we recommended, then we involved a catalog and a website,” said Christian Toro, a sophomore.The students and their teacher advisers, Ethan Feuer and Elena Marcovici, were clear: The library couldn’t just be cast-off books that no one wanted to read. They needed books teens of varying interests and reading levels would want to sink their teeth into.“Kids will not read books they don’t want to read just to appease a teacher,” said Feuer. “We want them to love reading, and to do that requires a book they actually want to read.”The student librarians had to sell their peers on reading, convince students why they would want to take books home, and why their goal was important.“We’d be in the hallway saying, ‘Get a book? Get a book? You need a book!’” said Brooklyn Grigger, a senior.The library crew talked up their project at assemblies, in the hallways, and via social media accounts they created. They held a big launch event in February 2024, drawing students with free food, urging them to register for the library and check out books.“Unlike wealthier schools in our district, we don’t have a library at our school,” an early Instagram post read. “That is absurd and unfair. But, we are trying to start one! Follow our page to help us achieve our goal and contribute if you can. Thank you for supporting us!”What books can meanThe library crew chose a name that symbolized what books can mean: DreamEscape Library.“People use books to escape reality, to live lives that are inaccessible to them,” said Grigger. “That’s how most of us describe reading books, what we use books for.”Buzz about DreamEscape spread. The library is small, but KHSA is known for its tight-knit community and school spirit.“Kids just kept coming, renewing books and stuff,” said Mack.In the spring, DreamEscape got a big boost. The librarians won a Young Entepreneurs prize from the Philly Service Award that came with $20,000 to expand the library. They were able to purchase couches, beanbag chairs and sturdy wooden bookshelves. At the beginning of this school year, DreamEscape moved into Room 107B, a multipurpose spot that serves the special education office and meeting space.The library is open three days a week, from 2:34 to 3:30 p.m, with student librarians creating a schedule and assigning themselves set tasks. It can be overwhelming when 20 students crowd into the room, but the crew loves it, they say.Building a library in a historically underserved neighborhood feels especially meaningful, said Ryan King, a sophomore.“It feels good to be able to help our peers,” said King. “It feels good to do this.”Making reading cool and accessible, even via an 800-volume library that’s open limited hours, has made a difference, said Feuer, who teaches ninth-grade English, often to classes made up primarily of students who read below grade level.“Right away, we’re seeing improvement in kids’ reading because they read more, they read books they like,” he said.For Marcovici, the experience is “incredible,” she said. “I think teaching is such a hard job, and there’s so many times when you feel like you’re failing kids, but being part of the library gives me so much hope. It’s really rejuvenating.”KHSA Principal Nimet Eren pops her head into DreamEscape whenever she can, inevitably observing students excited about reading, students excited to have their own space.A library was always on her wish list, said Eren, but she lacked the staff to manage one.“It’s a dream as a principal to have these teachers and these students working so hard to make their goals and their hopes for the school come true,” she said.Jean Darnell, the district’s new director of library sciences, who wants a library in every district school, is excited to visit DreamEscape this month, she said.“I think it’s remarkable that student voice, choice and agency is in full effect at Kensington Health Sciences Academy,” Darnell said. “There isn’t a better way to support student agency than putting in the sweat equity to ensure their intellectual freedom rights are protected with hands-on, primary source engagement in the school library.”
