$2K grant supports Agatha Christie genre unit at RHS

Wednesday, May 14, 2025 at 11:05 AM

By Staff report

The Fulton County Community Foundation announces that a $2,000 grant from the Marian Dyer Literacy Fund has been awarded to Rochester High School (RHS) to support a new Agatha Christie-themed mystery genre unit in Senior English.

The funding will be used to purchase class sets of four iconic Agatha Christie novels: "And Then There Were None," "Death on the Nile," "Murder on the Orient Express" and "The ABC Murders." The unit will provide students with a deeper appreciation for British literature and the detective fiction genre. A total of 50 copies of each title will be purchased to ensure that every student can engage with the texts.

“Senior English at Rochester High School places a strong emphasis on British literature,” RHS teacher Laura Friend said. “Agatha Christie is right up there with Shakespeare and Chaucer in her important impact upon British literature. Our current students are also huge fans of True Crime podcasts, and they find the Christie novels engaging and interesting.”

In addition to Senior English, the novels may also be incorporated into other language arts courses, giving more students the opportunity to explore Christie’s timeless stories and storytelling techniques.

The Marian Dyer Literacy Fund, administered by the Fulton County Community Foundation, was established in October 2006 by Darleen Baker in memory of her mother to provide secondary literacy education in the Rochester Community School Corp.

For more information about the Marian Dyer Literacy Fund or how to support literacy efforts in the community, visit www.nicf.org or contact the foundation at 574-223-2227.