Author Daniel Nayeri visits Albion Middle for all-school read; teachers say program fostered empathy

Author Daniel Nayeri visited Albion Middle School this week for a two-day, schoolwide program built around his novel The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams, bringing author talks, workshops and cross-curricular projects to students and teachers.

The visit was part of an “all-community read” conceived by teachers Stephanie Koryanis and Stephanie Nasser and supported by principal Eric Gardner and grant funding, including a $2,000 award from Voya’s Unsung Heroes program and an $80,000 grant from the Canyons Education Foundation. Organizers also used DonorsChoose funding and ordered more than 300 books for the school.

“The goal of this project was to unleash the power of one shared text,” Stephanie Koryanis, an Albion Middle teacher, said, explaining the teachers’ vision to use a single book as a jumping-off point for lessons across subjects. She said the program emphasized empathy and student engagement rather than a single classroom reading.

“it was almost like a giant…