Article written and posted in the Circleville Herald on February 16, 2026, by Lindzay Mason, Reporter.
MUHLENBERG TOWNSHIP — Westfall Middle School (WMS) Language Arts teacher, Mrs. Stephanie Davey, recently led a group of 25 eighth-grade students to Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) of Central Ohio. This yearly trip is prompted by her students' reading Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick.
This book comes from the perspective of Steven Alper, a 13-year-old boy whose little brother, Jeffrey, is diagnosed with leukemia. The story follows Steven’s experience of going through the normality of school alongside the life-altering family situation.
“I attended a conference years ago for the Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts. Jordan Sonnenblick was the keynote speaker and when he told the real-life story that inspired Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, I knew I had to read it with my students!” Davey explained. “We had the honor of Mr. Sonnenblick visiting our school a couple years ago, and that was very neat! He graciously hosted book talks and a writers’ workshop.”
The Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie unit is more than just reading the book. Davey includes medically-based articles to help her students view the perspective of those going through health challenges — symptoms, diagnoses, treatment options, and beneficial ways to help. The unit doubles as a service-learning experience. Davey shared that this meant combining her learning objectives with community engagement.
She said, “At Westfall, our goal is to educate the whole child. Providing opportunities that students might not otherwise have is one way we build community and teach life skills. One of my favorite authors, Matt de la Pena is quoted as saying, “Reading is the ultimate form of empathy…” Teenagers are often stereotyped as being egocentric and self-centered, but I disagree. Literature is a phenomenal avenue for exploring themes, social issues, and conflicts.”
The community engagement involved Davey’s students creating and sending electronic cards to patients at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. All of WMS participated in an aluminum pop tab collection competition. The collection of pop tabs transfers to proceeds when they are recycled. In this case, Davey said it allowed the students to help offset the electricity bill at RMHC. Another teacher at WMS, Ms. T, had her community service class create a tab collection box that allows for collection year round.
“For me, it was a natural extension of the novel to partner with Ronald McDonald House and give students exposure to the very concepts we read about in class. To know that the largest RMHC in the WORLD is within 45 minutes of us is something I never want to lose sight of,” Davey elaborated.
Last year, the students who had the opportunity to visit RMHC were able to volunteer their time for sanitizing and organizing the dining area for the families. The students who attended this year were able to visit with families and directly donate their collection of tabs.
“The RMHC events coordinator, Jacob Welter, guided our tour of the facility. Last year, he was gracious enough to come to our school and lead an informative assembly about the non-profit and what they do for families in need. During this year’s tour, we were able to see several families; watching our students interact with young children was a highlight! We received several compliments about our Mustangs’ respectful behavior, which was icing on the cake,” Davey shared.
Her goal for her students is to see the real-life version of the novel’s story. Building empathy in her students is a part of that goal. She said she wants her students to continue finding ways to serve others throughout their lives.