With its unique multidisciplinary perspective and its focus on urban education, the M. Jerry Weiss Center for Children’s and Young Adult Literature will support NJCU’s mission as an institution that provides its diverse population of students, faculty and community with theoretical and practical applications of knowledge and skills learned in the classroom. Faculty, students, and guests from such fields as elementary education, reading, English, educational technology, art, graphics, library science, media arts, and child psychology, will collaborate on curriculum development, practicums, and programs in order to:

• provide a unique, urban focus to the theory and pedagogy of this field of literature;
• encourage exploration and critical thinking;
• introduce future teachers to the importance of children’s literature in the curriculum;
• offer practical training for teachers and student teachers;
• become a resource for teachers and librarian/media specialists seeking innovative ways to encourage students to read and explore literature;
• raise awareness of children’s and young adult literature through an annual seminar and other outreach efforts;
• identify exceptional works of literature focusing on multicultural themes and promoting the acceptance of diversity;
• provide a forum for writers and artists to explore the creative process involved in writing and illustrating books for children and young adults;
• explore issues of censorship in children’s and young adult literature—a longstanding issue of deep concern to Dr. Weiss;
• create partnerships with NJCU’s community school districts to promote the use of quality authentic literature in the K-12 curriculum;
• develop partnerships with children’s museums and media outlets in the metropolitan region, and
• disseminate information to parents and the community at large.

Additionally, because of NJCU’s strategic location in proximity to several of the State’s Abbott Districts (school districts who have not met the state’s proficiency levels in literacy and mathematics), and because of the University’s commitment to urban education and the development of educational partnerships to promote academic scholarship, the Center will serve to promote those literacy best practices that support educational gains. Such efforts are also in keeping with federal and local initiatives such as “No Child Left Behind” and “Reading First.”