Monday, July 7, 2025
In a quiet corner of Lynbrook North Middle School, behind the doors of the Guidance Suite’s Wellness Room, a new kind of library is taking root—not one defined by silence or strict rules, but by empathy, identity, and connection.
In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, students at North Middle School in the Lynbrook School District have created a Social-Emotional Lending Library: a curated collection of more than 75 books, available in both English and Spanish, that explore themes ranging from anxiety and neurodiversity to friendship, cultural identity, and LGBTQ+ experiences.
“This library is really for everyone,” said English teacher Kate Schwecherl, who helped lead the project alongside Spanish and English as a New Language teacher James Wolf. “We wanted to build something meaningful that gave students the space to see themselves in stories—and also to see each other.”
Over the past several months, a core group of students met with Schwecherl and Wolf on Wednesday mornings to bring the project to life. Sixth grader David Akinkugbe, seventh graders Abigail Berghorn, Mackenzie Byington, and Genevieve Ruvolo, and eighth grader Kevin Ryan were among the most dedicated contributors, cataloguing, labeling, and reviewing books to create an accessible resource for their peers.
“I feel like it's good to have it, especially in middle school, because it's that weird in-between years where everything is changing a lot,” Byington said. “And having something to comfort you that you can relate to is really helpful.”
Books in the library are organized by topic and include student-written reviews. Many of the titles straddle multiple categories—bullying and discrimination, trauma and loss, developmental challenges—highlighting the emotional complexity of growing up.
“I said this book was about bullying and discrimination,” Ryan said of one of the titles he reviewed. “And I said it was a heartwarming, touching page turner.”
The project was born out of a desire to support mental health through literacy, and to extend social-emotional learning beyond the classroom.
The library’s location was a purposeful choice: mood lighting, soft seating, and a calm atmosphere offer a retreat for students who need a moment to regroup.
“We chose this room because when you're trying to calm down, you can come and read,” explained Ruvolo.
Schwecherl and Wolf were inspired to launch the initiative after a conference presentation on the mental health benefits of reading. Research consistently shows that students who read regularly report fewer mental health struggles, and the teachers wanted to find a way to make literature more accessible and relevant to all students.
“One of the things that resonated was how much reading impacts mental health,” Schwecherl said. “And we saw an opportunity to take something that already happens in the English classroom and let it live more broadly within our school culture.”
Wolf emphasized the importance of making the library inclusive.
“We saw a need for titles in languages other than English,” he said. “So, we made sure to include books in Spanish and to organize them into meaningful categories too.”
For students still developing English proficiency, the library sends a powerful message of belonging.
“Aside from things like leaving home and immigrating and things like that, they are just like every other kid that's facing similar issues or different issues, with maybe some added pressures,” Wolf said. “But they are still connecting with those same topics and those same themes.”
The students involved in the project spoke candidly about the impact of the books they’ve read—how characters’ struggles mirrored their own, and how reading became a source of validation and strength.
“Mental Health Awareness is important, so you don't feel alone, because characters in the books help understanding that your experience has been written about in a book,” said seventh grader Genevieve Ruvolo. “It kind of helps you realize that this is like a normal thing, and you're not alone.”
That sense of connection—between reader and character, between students and teachers, is at the heart of the library. Schwecherl said her students often surprise her with how ready they are to dive into emotionally complex material.
“I found that my students always really rise to the occasion,” she said. “I kind of let them guide and ask questions and go where they're comfortable. But they like that idea of being trusted. Some of our rougher books end up being their favorite.”
