KBE reads more at home with epic! (Pilot)

Moderation state
funded
Grant Applicant
Tara House
Grant Co-applicants
Melissa Giannetto, Sage Johnson
School Site
Kings Beach Elementary
Grant Category
Literacy
Grant Date
2026-06-09T12:00:00
Description

In second grade, we see a strong correlation of students who have a paid epic! digital library account at home and rapid reading growth.  We believe that we can increase the time students spend reading at home by offering this digital library. Additionally, epic! offers audio books and "read to me" where the words in the books are highlighted. We love epic school, but we don't have much time in class for digital, free choice reading. We would get more titles (5x the Spanish titles) and 24/7 access at home with epic! school plus. We also really love epic! for our English Learner students who may not have family at home that can read to them in English.

Unfortunately, the at home subscription is $90 a year for families who sign up on their own. This cost is prohibitive and we usually only have a few families in each class who sign up.  With epic school plus, we can provide access to families for only $18 per student.

Benefits of Program
  • Five times MORE SPANISH books! Spanish books, videos, and interactive materials are hard to find and KBE would love our students to have more access.
  • Access and Mobility: Unlike the free version restricted to school hours, Plus provides students with unlimited, 24/7 access to the library from home, including offline reading capabilities for students without consistent WiFi.
  • Extensive Curated Content: Access over 40,000 high-quality books, audiobooks, and educational videos (including Spanish, French, and Chinese titles), which is double the content of the free version.
  • Reading Progress Monitoring: Teachers and administrators get access to detailed, real-time reports and dashboards to track reading habits, comprehension, and progress, helping to build the "Daily 20" reading habit.
  • Comprehensive Learning Tools: Includes features like "Read-to-Me" books for independent reading, built-in dictionaries, and reading badges to gamify the learning process.
  • Reduces Learning Gaps: Helps prevent the "summer slide" or "winter slide" by providing continuous access to reading materials outside of school hours
Success of Program

We would like to pilot this subscription to see if we should ask the district or site to provide funds for this or if it is something that we should fundraise for.  We want to look at second grade data at the end of next year to evaluate the relationship to the number of hours reading and the types and quantity of activities completed on epic! to the DIBELS reading test scores. We can only do this with the paid access tracking tools.

Implementation

We have talked to other grade levels and teachers would appreciate having epic! school wide. Everyone we talked to is interested in giving it a try, and if any parents do not feel that they need it at home, we do not need to buy it for everyone. The subscription price is per student.

Can you share this grant with your grade level or subject team?

We hope to pilot this for the whole school, but we would only be required to pay for students whose parents agree that they will use epic! at home.  The cost of the subscription is $18 per student, so the projection of 6840 is a maximum cost.

Sustainability
This is a one year pilot.
Amount Funded
$6840.00
Individual Budget Items(s)
$6840 - Whole school 380 x $18= 6840 or just second grade subscription 380 x $18= $1260
Shipping
$0.00
Taxes
$0.00
Other funding sources

We will seek district, site, or parent donation funding for ongoing subscription costs if the team feels it is effective.

Supporting Links
https://www.getepic.com/app
Notes

We would love partial funding if we cannot get fully funded. $6840 is the price for the whole school. We can also run the pilot with just second grade which would cost $1,260.