What we know about why author Kathie Giorgio's name has been removed from the Waukesha North High School Wall of Stars
Author and Waukesha North High School alumna Kathie Giorgio has asked to have her name removed from the school's Wall of Stars after the district banned her books from school libraries in the district. The district has agreed to do so.
What's the Wall of Stars, and when was Giorgio added?
The Wall of Stars honors the accomplishments of Waukesha North High School's alumni. To be nominated, a person must have graduated at least five years ago, demonstrated citizenship during and after high school and have made a significant contribution to the community and society, according to the district's website.
Giorgio was nominated and accepted to the Wall of Stars in 2020 for her success as an author and for starting her business, AllWriters Workplace and Workshop LLC, a creative writing studio in Waukesha.
What has Giorgio written?
Giorgio has written 15 books: eight novels and seven collections of poems or short stories.
Here are her novels:
"The Home for Wayward Clocks"
"Learning To Tell a (Life) Time"
"Rise from the River"
"In Grace's Time"
"If You Tame Me"
"All Told"
"Hope Always Rises"
"Don't Let Me Keep You"
Here are her poems and short stories:
"Olivia In Five, Seven, Five; Autism In Haiku"
"No Matter Which Way You Look, There Is More To See"
"When You Finally Said No"
"Today's Moment of Happiness Despite The News"
"Enlarged Hearts"
"True Light Falls in Many Forms" is a poetry chapbook.
"Oddities And Endings: The Collected Stories of Kathie Giorgio"
Why did Giorgio want her name removed from the Wall of Stars?
In 2023, she discovered her books were among those removed from some of the school district's libraries. A librarian told Giorgio it was because they hadn't been checked out often, but she questioned that explanation because, she said, her books were on reading lists for various classes at Waukesha North.
Giorgio spoke at the school's 50th anniversary celebration in January, and gifted the district with copies of her books. She later learned that the district would not accept the gift.
Why won't the school district accept her books?
It's unclear.
A librarian told Giorgio her books were removed initially because they hadn't been checked out often.
Giorgio received an email from Waukesha School District deputy superintendent of teaching and learning Jenn Gennerman saying the books would not be accepted because the district prefers books to have protagonists the same age as high school students. But Giorgio said 11 of her 15 books do have protagonists of high school age.
And, Giorgio said, her own children read books at North that did not have high school age protagonists.
Giorgio also said she received an email from a school board member saying the district likes its library books to be a part of the core curriculum.
In any event, the school board reserves the right to define what gifts it considers appropriate and to reject what it deems inappropriate or unsuitable, according to the district's policy on donations.
The school district did not answer questions about specifically why the books were not accepted or what process was followed in reviewing Giorgio's donation.
What is the school district's response?
In a statement, the school district said it has spent "significant time, energy, and resources to establish guaranteed and viable curriculum resources across many subjects."
"Our goal is to ensure all students have a common and rigorous learning experience. Similarly, our focus has also been on ensuring that our school libraries offer age and maturity-level appropriate content. When there is a donation of books, our library media staff has practices in place for when books are donated," the district said.
"We have had a change in library staff over the years," said a statement from the school district. "The size of the library, the condition of the book and the frequency of the book being checked out are all factors when considering if a book is weeded from the library collection."
Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on X (Twitter) at @AlecJohnson12.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Author Kathie Giorgio removed from Waukesha North Wall of Stars
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time Magazine
16 hours ago
- Time Magazine
Nicole Scherzinger Wins Her First Tony Award for Her Performance in
Mr. DeMille, Nicole Scherzinger is ready for her close-up. On June 8, Nicole Scherzinger, 46, won her first Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for her role as Norma Desmond, a has-been staging a comeback in Sunset Blvd, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Broadway adaptation of the 1950 film by the same name. 'Thank you,' Scherzinger said through tears while accepting the award at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, "for making this little Hawaiian Ukranian Filipino girl's dream come true." She then fretted about how quickly the seconds were ticking by and mentioned more than once how grueling the Broadway schedule is as she thanked her mother, who had her at 18, her father and sister, and her entire ohana, or family. She also thanked composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. Scherzinger, who hails from Kentucky, has become one of the most prominent Asian Pacific stage actors. She's cited Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Miss Saigon as some of her own favorite musicals. Before she was a Broadway star, Scherzinger was a member of the bestselling pop group the Pussycat Dolls. Because of her experience chasing stardom as a pop singer, she says she can relate to her Sunset Blvd character Norma Desmond. 'Time is fleeting for all of us, and Norma struggled with abandonment, deep loneliness, feeling unseen, and not accepted,' Scherzinger told TIME for a recent profile. 'A lot of us feel that way, especially in this industry.' Scherzinger is also on TIME's 2025 list of the most influential people in the world. In a tribute to Scherzinger for the list, Tony Award-winning actor and singer Patti LuPone described her performance as 'courageous, audacious, mesmerizing, elegantly beautiful, and ultimately heartbreaking,' and capped it off with 'Brava, Diva.' Earlier this week, Sunset Blvd. announced a final extension on Broadway with performances through July 20. Scherzinger said she never felt like she belonged as a child, but "You all have made me feel that I belong and I have come home at last. So if theres anyone out there who feels like they don't belong or your time hasnt come," she continued, "don't give up, just keep on giving and giving because the world needs your love and your light more than ever now."
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Richard Burgheim, a Founding Editor of PEOPLE, Dies at 91: 'A True Friend and Mentor'
Richard Burgheim, a founder editor of PEOPLE, has died at age 91 The pioneering journalist was tapped to serve as a Senior Editor for the then-soon-to-be-launched PEOPLE years ago "The best thing about him was that he recognized and developed talent wherever he found it," a former PEOPLE staffer rememberedRichard Burgheim, a founder editor of PEOPLE, has died. He was 91. The pioneering journalist and St. Louis native died on Sunday, June 1, at Weill Cornell, according to an online obituary. Burgheim began his career in journalism at Harvard University, where he served as sports editor of The Harvard Crimson, the Ivy League university's student newspaper, as well as the campus stringer for the Associated Press. He went on to become a writer for TIME magazine, where he worked for many years, and was later tapped by Richard B. Stolley, a Managing Editor, to serve as a Senior Editor for the then-soon-to-be-launched PEOPLE years ago. PEOPLE first hit newsstands in March 1974. In the decades since, PEOPLE has grown to become the iconic brand it is known as today — expanding from a newsstand-only publication to now include digital news coverage and social media coverage, as well as a new app, among other ventures. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Remembering Burgheim, Claudia Dowling, a former PEOPLE Senior Writer, said, "I owe my career to him." "The best thing about him was that he recognized and developed talent wherever he found it, whether in a copy clerk like me or a secretary," she continued. Andy Abrahams, a former PEOPLE Editorial Manager, met Burgheim as a fact checker at Time Inc.'s TV Cable Week magazine. He recalled, "Dick wanted us to know that we were important in the process, no matter what our station was at the magazine. He had a natural gift for striking the right tone in a story, with a keen eye towards writing and editing for a mass audience with humor and grace." The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now! "He was smart, funny, barked like a seal when he laughed and was a true friend and mentor," added Cutler Durkee, a former PEOPLE Executive Editor. Burgheim is survived by his wife, Ricki Fulman. Donations can be made in his honor to the New York Public Library. Read the original article on People
USA Today
2 days ago
- USA Today
The 'true' origin story of 'The Ritual' is even more hair-raising: 'Begone Satan!'
The 'true' origin story of 'The Ritual' is even more hair-raising: 'Begone Satan!' Show Caption Hide Caption 'The Ritual': Al Pacino, Dan Stevens take on exorcism horror Al Pacino and Dan Stevens star in "The Ritual," a horror film based on the account of a 1928 American exorcism. "The Ritual" exorcism horror drama (now in theaters), starring Al Pacino as the real-life German-American Capuchin friar Theophilus Riesinger and Dan Stevens as Father Joseph Steiger, proudly claims to be "based on true events." The star duo delivers hair-raising moments as they recreate the 1928 exorcism of Emma Schmidt (Abigail Cowen). But on a horror level, it pales in comparison to the more sensational source material. Writer-director David Midell has made it clear "The Ritual" is inspired by the 1935 "Begone Satan!" book by Father Carl Vogl, a German priest and author. Vogl's exclamation point-filled "true account" of the proceedings in Earling, Iowa, is still available online and makes for great, campy reading. How 'Begone Satan!' emerged as the source of 'The Ritual' in Time magazine Steiger's job was to host (other churches declined) and to take notes during the harrowing (and reportedly successful) exorcism. The Steiger notes are the purported source of "Begone Satan!" which made front-page news in religious publications like Denver's Catholic Register years later. Time magazine brought the story to mainstream readers with a Riesinger-heavy 1936 account of the "diabolical possession." The Time article demonstrates some skepticism by reminding readers "that no Catholic is obliged to believe in any particular account of a case of diabolical possession outside of those recounted in Scripture." At the end of this long, twisted, and sometimes dubious road, "The Ritual" earns the right to make the carefully worded claim in its closing: "The 1928 exorcism of Emma Schmidt represents the most thoroughly documented and well-known exorcism in American history." The devil will apparently mess with your car In an early "Ritual" scene, Steiger apologizes for failing to pick up Riesinger at the train station, attributing the oversight to the devil's mischief. With 19 exorcisms to his name, he knows that the devil will mess with cars. In "Begone Satan!" Steiger can't explain why his "tip-top" car takes two hours to get to the station. Riesinger points out that the traveling mishap is the devil "doing his utmost to foil our plans." Later, Steiger is nearly killed after inexplicably losing control of his still-new car on a familiar road and crashing it to "smithereens." The book's car-totaling "devil's trick" doesn't make "The Ritual," which is a shame, given the rich real-life irony: Stevens' "Downton Abbey" character, Matthew Crawley, was killed in a Season 3 car crash that allowed him to pursue a film career. In "Begone Satan!" Steiger's congregation pitches in to buy a new car for the pastor, which frankly could have been an alternate film ending (with a Ford sponsorship). Riesinger had met Schmidt's demons before In "The Ritual," Riesinger makes it clear that the case is personal because he had previously exorcised Schmidt. "Begone Satan!" says Riesinger "freed her from this possession" in 1912, but Schmidt "became possessed again" in her 40s. Schmidt is said to be possessed by four entities that announce themselves as Beelzebub, betraying disciple Judas, Schmidt's abusive father Jacob and Mina (Jacob's lover and Schmidt's aunt). The devil didn't mess with the 'Ritual' nuns Three nuns are injured while dealing directly with the possessed Schmidt in "The Ritual," and Sister Rose ("Twilight" star Ashley Greene) has her hair pulled out of her scalp. In "Begone Satan!" the devil never attacked the nuns, saving his blows for the bigwigs — Pastor Steiger or Mother Superior (played by "Everybody Loves Raymond" star Patricia Heaton). In "The Ritual," the demons within Schmidt taunt Steiger with knowledge of his brother's recent death by suicide. There's no suggestion of these low blows in "Begone Satan!" But in the book, Steiger gives some memorable verbal shots in that never made the movie, like "detestable hellhound" and "vile serpent." Satan also calls Riesinger "dumbbell" when the overtired priest doesn't get his prayers right. That didn't make the movie, either. 'Begone Satan!' has the possessed woman flying over bed like 'The Ritual' The possessed Schmidt throws up black bile often in "The Ritual," but not as much as in the book. 'It was not unusual for her to vomit 20 to 30 times a day," the book says, including bedside descriptions of wretched output "resembling vomited macaroni." The movie scene featuring Schmidt flying over the bed is detailed in "Begone Satan!" "The possessed woman broke from the grip of her protectors and stood erect before them," the book says. "Only her heels were touching the bed." How 'Begone Satan!' ends the story Unlike the movie, the Iowa exorcism reportedly took place in three stages, in August, September and December 1928. The book's climax differs from "The Ritual" ending, which has Schmidt running through the church catacombs, and Steiger stepping up with an exorcist hero moment, shouting down the demon with the Bible in hand. In the book, levitating Schmidt returns to the bed, and "Satan was forced to leave his victim at last to return to Hell." Schmidt utters, "My Jesus mercy! Praised be Jesus!" showing she's clear. The woman "reportedly lived out the rest of her life peacefully," the movie says in the closing credits. "Begone Satan!" backs up that happy ending, adding "there were still possessions, but of a milder nature."
