B-CU Librarian Dr. Clarissa West-White Writes Chapter in Homeschooling and Libraries: New Solutions and Opportunities (2020) McFarland & Company

B-CU Librarian Dr. Clarissa West-White writes chapter in Homeschooling and Libraries: New Solutions and Opportunities (2020) McFarland & Company. The book provides information for families considering homeschooling and those who are homeschooling and the various paths that such an endeavor can take. According to editors Vera Gunitskaia and Carol Smallwood, “The collection of essays provides a range of approaches and strategies suggested by skilled professionals as well as veteran home school parents on how to best serve home schooled youth including special needs, gifted, and African American students; advice on how to provide support for families; case studies; and information on helpful new technologies.”

Dr. West-White served as lead author of the chapter along with Dr. Amanda Wilkerson, Assistant Professor Higher Education and Policy Studies at the University of Central Florida. The chapter, “African-American Parents and Decision-Making,” looks at the role libraries play in the lives of homeschooled African American families. It begins with a brief history about the segregating of libraries and how remnants of institutional racism continues to inform the discipline in terms of access, policy, practice and programming.

In addition to serving as a Research Instructor/Reference Librarian in the Carl S. Swisher Library, Dr. Clarissa West-White adjuncts in the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Education here at Bethune Cookman University, where she teaches College English I & II online and a credit hour of the Teacher Methods course for English Education majors, respectively. She is a member of the Florida Association of College & Research Librarians Conference Program Committee and planning committee for the Florida Theological Association 2021 conference. She was a 2019 fellow of the Robert Frederick Smith Internship and Fellowship Program under the auspices of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institute.

Dr. West-White joined the English faculty at Bethune-Cookman University in 2014 after teaching English and English education courses at various institutions throughout Florida. Since her arrival to Bethune-Cookman University, she has served on several committees, served as department chair, conducted IRB-approved research regarding students’ news preference and views on fake news, and received a second Masters in Information. She is a fervent believer in life-long learning and following your passions.