New Undamaged Copy of “Paint Me Like I Am” back in Landis Intermediate School Library

In May, the Kids’ Right to Read Project reported on the censorship of Jayson Tirado’s poem, “Diary of an Abusive Stepfather”, after Landis Intermediate School principal, Don Kohaut, literally ripped the poem out of the school’s only copy of the nationally-acclaimed anthology, Paint Me Like I Am. One mother of a thirteen year-old student had raised concerns over the age-appropriateness of the poem’s content. KRRP sent a letter to Vineland School District Superintendent Charles Ottinger and received this response. We are happy to report a complete version of Paint Me Like I Am is now available in the school library and that Vineland School District however begrudgingly intends to follow specific policy in dealing with book challenges that could arise in the future.