Our students love to read, they love to talk about what they're reading, and they absolutely love it when they can talk to their teachers about what they're reading! In order to promote those conversations and continue our work around secondary literacy, we would like to request an Excellence in Education grant to provide each teacher on campus with a classroom library stocked with titles from genres that they themselves like to read and can talk about with their students.
While all of our English teachers have classroom libraries of free reading books to choose from, and our librarian has an excellent collection of young adult literature, we are finding that many of our students have interests in genres and other types of literature that align with many of our staff members. For example, one of our teachers has brought in his collection of science fiction novels and lends them out to students on a regular basis. His knowledge of that genre has created connections with his students, opportunities for conversations about those books, and recommendations for those students who are interested in that particular genre.
We would like to create those opportunities in each classroom so that each student on campus has quick access to a novel (especially for the free reading period in Pathways once a week) as well as an adult on campus with whom they feel comfortable discussing books. Thanks to our efforts around secondary literacy, we are seeing more and more students with books in their hands on a regular basis, students racing each other to the library when they learn the book they want next has been returned, and an increase in our ELA scores on state tests. We want to continue that positive momentum by creating a culture of reading where it's the norm to discuss books, make recommendations, and explore new types of literature.