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About Us
Founded in 2019, On The Same Page Boston is a book access advocacy campaign for Boston Public Schools run by students at Emerson College.
Every semester, we partner with a Boston Public School to gather books for students. By bringing together communities that care, we believe every child can be on the same page—ready to read, learn, and grow.
On The Same Page Boston was created to inform the greater Boston community of the importance of Boston Public School libraries, raise awareness of the city's literacy disparity, and collect books to make dreams happen for school children.
History
On the Same Page Boston was founded in 2019 by Cathryn Edelstein, an Emerson College professor who wanted to connect classroom learning with meaningful work in the Boston community. After speaking with Conley Elementary School teacher Neil Harris about the limited availability of books reflecting his students’ backgrounds and experiences, she saw an opportunity for her students to help. Through her Nonprofit Fundraising Campaigns course in Emerson’s School of Communication, Edelstein guided students in launching a book donation campaign for the Conley School in Roslindale.
That first effort brought in approximately 465 books and established the approach that continues today: working with Boston educators to identify students’ reading needs and bringing the community together to meet them.
Under Edelstein’s leadership, the initiative expanded to additional Boston Public Schools, continued through the COVID-19 pandemic, and grew through community partnerships, including book collection drives with Tatte Bakery & Café. Since its founding, On the Same Page Boston has donated more than 9,000 books to nine Boston public schools.
Edelstein retired from Emerson in May 2025, leaving a foundation for future faculty and student teams to build upon. Her belief that every child deserves to see themselves in a story continues to guide the campaign’s work.