An Update.

WSRA (Wisconsin State Reading Association) Resignation.

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We, the undersigned, are resigning from our chair and leadership positions on WSRA’s Children’s Literature Committee, effective immediately.

This decision was not made lightly, nor quickly, but is a result of our collective experiences in the organization over several years. We believe that now is the right time to step away and focus our professional and personal efforts into education and literacy spaces that prioritize equity, inclusivity, and advocacy through clear, action-oriented plans and practices.

It is our responsibility as educators and literacy leaders to be reflective and responsive to challenges that persist and arise, in order to protect every child’s right to develop their literacy skills and access books that inform, empower, and celebrate all identities and lived experiences. To accomplish that, we must not be neutral. Rather, clear, unwavering statements of position + ensuing action is required for WSRA’s mission, beliefs, and goals.

The current crisis across our nation of book banning, censorship, and discriminatory education legislation is dangerously real and affects all children. We will not be bystanders, and we cannot participate in organized passivity that continues to uphold systems of an inequitable status quo.

Over our years of service in WSRA, we are fiercely proud of our efforts with the Children’s Literature Committee. We have evolved the work of the committee to high standards by critical analysis through anti-bias/anti-racist lenses, courageous conversations, and championing literature that represents and reflects our world.

At this time, after many years of conversations and concerns, attempts to disrupt the status quo from within WSRA, and resistance toward transformative changes in these areas, we feel our efforts and expertise will be more immediate, impactful, and aligned through our other professional endeavors.

Though this chapter with WSRA closes for us, we will continue our vital work, striving for a more just and equitable world for us all, and we hope that our reflections give WSRA the boost it needs to embrace literacy leadership in important, inclusive, and impactful ways.

Jillian Heise, Nicole Mashock, Megan Tonn, Aliza Werner