MANCHESTER, Conn. -- Instead of dropping “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” from its reading list, the Manchester school system has decided to hold seminars for teachers on how to deal with issues of race before bringing the book back to classrooms.

The goal of the seminars is to put the book into perspective and create a dialogue on race, white privilege, satire and stereotyping, which were also issues when Twain published it in 1885.

“It does provide a very good platform to talk about racial issues and to actually without me going into detail as to where Twain was in Chapter 4 or Chapter 12,” said Assistant Superintendent Anne Richardson. “It really provides a good opportunity to have a conversation about race.”

The book will be back in classes next month after teachers complete a series of seminars, which will put the novel into the context of the time in which it was written.

“With the training we're doing with our staff, the commitment of our staff to be involved in the process, I think it's a real opportunity to provide our students with a new opportunity to have those courageous conversations about race and all of the elements that surround race, as difficult as they might be,” said Manchester High School Principal Kevin O’Donnell.

The Rev. John Selders, of the Amistad United Church of Christ, is one of the people working with teachers to prepare them to handle class discussions around the book.

“Are teachers ready?” he asked. “I think some are. I think some may need to do some more work, but that's the job of a teacher, to continue to do the continuing education work, to be ready to handle what students need, because at the end of the day, in an educational environment, it's about the students.”