NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. — A simple “yes” from a Nassau County school librarian isn’t just causing a change in one of the local schools, but could be allowing more possibilities in school libraries around the country.
It’s after she got a call from a mother in Fernandina Beach, Kasi DeStefano. DeStefano wanted to try asking if her homeschooled daughter, Panama, would be able to attend the Scholastic book fair at Yulee Elementary School, even though she’s not a student.
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The librarian, Chandra Solis, said she could come shop at the book fair. DeStefano, who’s also a social media influencer known as “Kasi Comunale” on TikTok, took a video of the visit and posted it online. The video caught the attention of some of the people working for Scholastic, who reached out to her and said they loved the idea of having homeschooled students visit more book fairs. The company tells Action News Jax it’s now working to have more schools around the U.S. open their book fairs to homeschooled students.
As a thank you, Panama brought a flower and a handwritten letter to Solis for letting her visit the book fair at Yulee Elementary School. Action News Jax was there to watch the moment Solis was surprised with the gift.
“It was so heartwarming. I didn’t know what to expect, so this was a really nice surprise,” Solis said, “We don’t know how we touch other people’s lives and we need to be more cognizant of that and always welcoming.”
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Solis tells Action News Jax she’s going to work to have Yulee Elementary open all of its future book fairs to homeschooled students. She even said she’ll try to have a night dedicated for homeschooled students around Nassau County to be able to shop for books in person.
This is the second time Action News Jax has covered the DeStefano family’s love for books. In January, we told you when Kasi and Panama were making videos showing them stocking tiny libraries in Nassau County’s public parks with books from their personal collection. Kasi says getting to continue making change in the community has been a deeply rewarding chapter of her family’s story.
“This is like reliving my childhood. It’s like seeing my best moments as a kid,” DeStefano said, “this is beyond what I ever thought we would accomplish.”
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