English teacher Antoinette Lemersal began reading when she was 4 years old. Her kindergarten teacher was so in awe of her ability to read at a young age, she would have Lemersal read to her husband when he came to the classroom to fix things. Inspired by her love of books and with a desire to connect with other staff members, Lemersal founded a staff book club in 2019.

“I just thought it would be a good way for staff to come together, to talk about stuff that I love: books, and that they love too, and a way to get people from all over the campus to come in—to get a variety of people,” Lemersal said. 

Lemersal, school speech pathologist Wendy Svenson, English teacher Nikolette Reigle, social science teacher Laura Cox, English teacher Jeanne Cavanagh, math teacher Amanda Sandstrom, math teacher Katherine Bell, computer science teacher Rachel Neumann, and English teacher Khadijah Sheik are regular attendees. Apart from their books, they discuss anything from interactions with students to social and political issues.

According to Lemersal, during the book club’s first year, they discussed the well-researched novel American Dirt, about the journey of a woman and her son, who flea from the drug cartel in their home city, Acapulco, Mexico, to illegally enter America. 

The conversation dug much deeper than the book itself and discussed the controversy surrounding the author Jeanine Cummins, who was white and wrote the book about a person of color’s experiences. The book club was a space where members could hold nuanced conversations. 

Above all, this book club is a place for connection and good conversation. As Cavanagh sips a Diet Coke with a lunch box decorated with bananas, as Bell munches on her homemade salad, and as Cox hands out truffles she received for Valentine’s Day, the group treasures these 30 minutes they share.  

For Svenson, her love of books started before she could even read. Eventually, when she was 4, she would read under the covers at night. She remembers going to the library during summers as a child. 

Most people at Westview have few opportunities to connect with Svenson: a student when they have speech therapy or teachers when they’re in Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings, staff meetings, or professional growth days with Svenson. Otherwise, she is tucked away in a corner of the hallway between the principal’s office and the Wolverine Center on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Until very recently, you couldn’t even find her email on the school website if you tried. 

“I do feel isolated,” Svenson said. “And I don’t like to be that way. I’d like to know who people are and so I introduce myself to teachers, but everyone is busy. There are teachers that sit in the teachers’ lounge at lunchtime here. So I’ve met some of them that way to say ‘hi’ as I go to pick up my lunch to go eat with my team. There is a little bit more of a disconnect with the rest of the staff.” 

Before she worked part-time at Westview, she worked full-time at Rancho Bernardo, where she was connected to a greater network of people. Last school year, Lemersal emailed all staff members, including Svenson, inviting them to join her book club.

“I noticed [the email sent by Lemersal] and I thought, ‘I love to read,” Svenson said. “‘I’m not in a book club right now, so why not?’ And then I’d be able to meet more people.”

The club meets monthly on Fridays; Svenson’s day off, so she makes the drive from Escondido to attend the book club during lunch, sometimes with cookies, sometimes with cake, sometimes with pretzels.

On Feb. 16, the author of the book Svenson recommended, The Last House on the Street, Diane Chamberlain, joined the meeting through Zoom. Members learned that Chamberlain lived in San Diego from 1972 to 1989, working at Sharp Hospital. They gained insight into the book characters’ development and the author’s writing process. The club members would “ooh” “ahh” and “mmm,” after bites of strawberries and sips from mugs with math equations, in response to what Chamberlain said. 

For 30 minutes that day, D-114 became an intimate space for staff members to journey outside of their classrooms, potentially venturing out of their comfort zone, and seeing friendly, familiar faces.

“We have a tendency [as to teachers to only] get to know people in your department, or you just get to know certain people that you’re friends with, which is great, but this [book club] was a way to try to get some people that maybe who don’t get out at lunch very often [together],” Lemersal said. “I go out to lunch every day. I’m a social person. I need to go see my friends at lunch. But [we need to help] some people get them out of their rooms, get us together, get people from all over the campus together, and I’d like to see more people participate. I know it gets hard, but whether it’s joining a book club or just coming to the staff lounge once a week for lunch, you have to make an effort to get out of your classroom.”