Lead Elementary School - Library Refurbishment
September 2025
On September 20th, Access Books Bay Area led and completed our 21st school library refurbishment at Lead Elementary School in San Mateo (Lead). We partnered with Lead to refurbish their library with the generous support of the Sharks Foundation through their 2024-25 Goals for Kids program!
Our project was a catalyst for the school to partner with a local organization, Central Peninsula Church, to invest in much needed physical upgrades to their library. These physical updates included painting, new shelving, soft reading furniture, tables, chairs and a new circulation desk. In addition, local bookstores Reach & Teach Books and Linden Tree Books teamed up with their customers to support literacy, donating 135 new hardcover books to Lead’s library.
Lead currently enrolls 349 students in grades K-5. The majority of the students are considered socioeconomically disadvantaged, 74% are Hispanic/Latino, and 60% are English Language Learners. Lead, like many schools we serve, predominantly educates students of color and is consciously tasked with providing equity and opportunity for their students.
Principal Natalie Delahunt, who was one of many volunteers carefully processing new books on the project day, shared with our Marketing and Communications team the importance of the library as a space which creates equity and community for students:
“[...] what’s really important is [that] our students see themselves in the books and the curriculum every single day, because this school in particular serves [mainly] students of color. So, it’s really important that the kids have access to see themselves in books, but also to create windows—of course, the windows, the doors, the sliding doors—all of those things for our kids. We need to show them other ways in the world as well, not just what they’re used to and familiar with. So, it’s important that kids see themselves and also see what’s possible for them, in a way that we can do in a school library.”
Our team purchased 1253 brand-new, diverse and culturally relevant Spanish and English language books for the school library. In addition, we donated 700 gently used books which helped restock teachers’ classroom libraries. The books we donated were carefully curated to include a diverse range of voices, genres, and formats including graphic novels and illustrated picture books, which we hope sparks a new joy for reading.
On the project day, we came together with 66 volunteers from the Sharks Foundation, Goals for Kids sponsor SAP, and the Central Peninsula Church to bring the newly refurbished library to life. Together we processed the new books and shelved them in their new home. By the end of the day, our team and volunteers gained a deeper appreciation for what it takes to supply a library, and felt pride in the hard work put into this refurbishment.
We deeply appreciate the generosity of our donors and partners, the dedication of our volunteers, and the support of the school administration and staff who helped make this refurbishment as remarkable as it was. We hope our shared commitment to bridging the literacy gap continues to bring us together as we serve and refurbish school libraries across the Bay Area, ensuring children in under-resourced schools have the books they need to grow into lifelong readers.
