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February 2003
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Have a newsworthy item? Comments? Questions? Contact Paula Byrne, editor |
By Pamela Vallee, Library Media Specialist
Lunenburg High School
pamela_vallee@hotmail.com
Each September in the town of Lunenburg, students, faculty, administrators and various community members meet within the high school in book discussion groups. Some of the books discussed are rather short, some are more difficult, but each student has read a book of their own choosing. Some groups chat over a gourmet breakfast, while others laugh together. Each group has gathered to share their reading experience and participate in our school-wide summer reading program.
This approach to summer reading has been very successful. In its third year of existence during the 2001-2002 school year, slightly over 85% of our students received a passing grade. This school-wide event has been a great improvement over the original summer reading program, which was contained within the English department. Under the old plan, the English faculty assigned one book to each grade, required that every student in that grade read the selected book over the summer, and then administered an exam at the beginning of the fall term. This method was not successful, with only 40-50% of the students receiving a passing grade. The program did not motivate students to read and many chose not to do so.
Despite problems with the program, the local school committee determined that high school students needed to complete a summer reading assignment. Michael Hannigan, one of the English teachers, realized the value of summer reading but understood that the current program was failing. He designed and proposed the current school-wide program that drastically altered the tone of the summer reading program.
The ability to choose which book one reads is essential if one is to enjoy reading. Michael Hannigan understood that students regarded assigning a particular book to read over the summer as an invasion. The central theme of his summer reading proposal was to give students the element of choice. He wanted to design a program that would encourage even the most reluctant readers to participate and enjoy reading. Under the new summer reading program, students need to choose one book from a list of approximately forty different titles. The books cover a range of reading levels and topics, giving students a good variety from which to select.
Another aspect of this new program was the shared responsibility for summer reading across the professional staff of the high school. Michael Hannigan proposed the new summer reading program at a faculty meeting and worked to build consensus throughout the building. Within a very short time, 100% of the faculty voted to accept the proposal. Every faculty member and administrator at the high school participates in the summer reading program in some capacity. Most volunteer to sponsor a book. Many are also homeroom teachers who are essential to getting information to students and reminding them to sign up. The few teachers who do not sponsor a book or who find that no students chose their book selection assist on assessment day by monitoring the hallways and cafeteria. This is a completely volunteer program and the faculty at Lunenburg High School has ensured the wonderful success of this program.
Mr. Hannigan soon discovered that he not only had the support of the entire faculty, but that the greater community also wished to collaborate with the high school. The Ritter library has been a great asset to this program, providing support as well as tracking down interlibrary loan copies of the summer reading books to lend students. The superintendent and other district administrators also sponsor books, which allows students to meet these professionals in a relaxing atmosphere. We also have a few community members come forward each year to sponsor titles, which I relish because tales of the success of this program have reached beyond the walls of the school.
The basic structure of our summer reading program is as follows. Each year teachers, guidance counselors, the superintendent, the principal, the vice-principal, other administrators and community members each select a book he or she would like to sponsor as a summer reading selection by the end of April. As the library media specialist and summer reading coordinator, I create suggestion lists for those who need help choosing a book. After all of the sponsors have selected a book, I put together a packet of information containing a description of the program, the list of book choices, and a sign-up sheet. In May the packets are distributed to all students who will be attending Lunenburg High School the following fall.
Books are limited to twenty-five spaces, so students are asked to sign-up for three selections (a first, second and third choice). The sign-up sheet must be signed by a parent or guardian and returned to me in the library by a deadline in late May. Students are assigned to their book on a first come-first serve basis, and are encouraged to sign up promptly to receive their top choice. Many students come to me to see which of their book selections they should read. I also create and distribute reports to homeroom teachers that indicate student selections, as well as which students need reminders to select a book.
In September, students meet with the sponsor of their summer reading book. This is generally a surprise because we try not to reveal who sponsored a particular book so that student selections are not affected. The sponsor determines what type of activity to employ for assessment. Most use a short quiz and then spend the rest of the time discussing the book with the students. Students receive a pass/fail grade for summer reading on their first term report card.
I try to provide the greatest possible access to the summer reading book selections. We do not require students to purchase their own copies, and I explain how to use the public library to borrow the books. Over the summer, I lend all my copies of summer reading books to the public library in Lunenburg so that students can borrow them over the break. I also send our list to local bookstores to increase awareness about which books students will be seeking to purchase. In addition, I created a virtual bookstore on my library website linking students to amazon.com and bn.com where they could purchase books at a discount online.
I solely coordinated the program last year and am currently planning for my third summer reading experience. Although coordinating the program can be frantic at times, it is very enjoyable. The students and the faculty are interested in the program, and there is actually a sense of anticipation prior to the sign-up period. Students ask me to provide inside information about what the book choices will be before everyone else knows. The display of all the books I arrange each year is quite popular with students and staff who drop by to examine the different choices.
Although not everyone makes the May deadline, I eventually sign up every student before the end of the school year. I place telephone calls home to remind students that they need to return a signed permission slip. Homeroom teachers at the high school and middle school are wonderful about reminding students to sign up. Our guidance counselors even work during the lunch blocks to track down students who have not turned in a slip. This is not just a school-wide endeavor on summer reading assessment day; all of the staff works together from the very beginning to ensure the success of the program.
After assisting with the program my first year (the program's second year) at Lunenburg High School, Michael Hannigan and I discussed some of the errors in the system and set out to resolve them. I created a database of all the students that track their selections throughout their four years at the high school. That way I can immediately check to see that a student does not try to read the same book more than once (and no student has attempted this yet). I can also print out various reports, such as lists for homeroom teachers showing which students still need to sign up or attendance sheets for a book's sponsor indicating who should be meeting to discuss the book.
Another problem we encountered was trying to get information to the eighth grade students attending middle schools in Lunenburg and Shirley who will be entering Lunenburg High School the following year. I rely on the eighth grade homeroom teachers at the Turkey Hill Middle School in Lunenburg to distribute the summer reading packets to their students and to collect signed permission slips. I visit THMS every couple of days to pick up the slips and distribute updated selection lists to the homeroom teachers indicating to the students which of their three selections they should read. Each year we gain more cooperation from the THMS teachers as they become more familiar with the importance of the program.
Reaching the eighth grade students in Shirley has been more difficult. The first two years Michael Hannigan or I drove out to the school to distribute the summer reading packets to the principal of the middle school. Rather than sending in the signed slips before the deadline, the principal held onto all of the slips and sent them in after the school year ended. Fortunately, our guidance secretary contacted me over the summer and we were able to settle everything. Last year I enlisted the assistance of the high school Guidance office in the signup process to avoid such hassles. One of our counselors knows in advance which out-of-town students will be enrolling the following year. I asked her to send the summer reading packets to each of their homes. I telephoned reminders to those students who did not respond by the deadline. This method proved to be much more successful and all incoming students were signed up before the end of the school year.
We did have one incident during the first year of the program involving a parent upset at the content of the book her daughter was reading. Therefore, we have implemented a sign-up process that requires a parent or guardian's signature. I also open the library one evening and am available during the day for any parent who wishes to peruse the selections of his or her child. During the past two years, I have not had one parent come to examine the book choices. However, not a single incident involving a parent unhappy with their child's selection has occurred during the same period.
Lunenburg High School considers summer reading to be an important part of a student's academic requirements. I enter grades before the first term progress reports are distributed so that students who were absent and their parents are reminded that summer reading must be completed. I ask all of our sponsors to provide a make-up quiz and students who were absent come to me take the quiz during a study hall or after school. There are still a few students who elect to sit in the cafeteria rather than participate in a summer reading discussion group, but as the program progresses the number of students sitting out continues to decline.
The students have let us know that they enjoy this summer reading format, but we need plenty of professional support to administer it. Each year Michael Hannigan and I approach the faculty to see if they wish to continue this voluntary, school-wide format. Every year we discover that our staff members are thrilled to select another book, and new sponsors come forward each year to participate. This program continues its success thanks to the collaboration of our high school community, but also those within the community who regard the joy of reading an important quality to be promoted among our students.
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