Summer readers on right page
The back-to-school season is in full swing, and many classrooms are discussing the summer reading that students completed over vacation.
At John T. Nichols Jr. Middle School in Middleboro, there’s a lot of extra conversation. That’s because those students are the winners of the Summer Smart Reading Challenge, a competition designed to inspire a lifelong love of reading in children and teens.
The challenge is a collaborative effort between the ed-tech startup Readocity and the nonprofit organization Mass Literacy. Over the summer students used the online program Readocity to log their reading, discover book recommendations and access reading tips.
The students at Nichols Middle School logged more reading minutes on average per student than any other school in the state, making them winners in the category of school. Students entering grades seven and eight participated in the challenge, racking up a total of 64,000 minutes.
School librarian Debbie Walgreen said she is pleasantly surprised that her school came out on top. “I’m proud of these students that have done the reading and excited for them.”
The school will receive a $1,000 grant for their library provided by Mass Literacy, which Walgreen said will be put to good use. “I was going to split it up between the three grade levels and let the students choose titles that they are interested in and want to read during our silent reading program,” she said.
Anna DuFresne, a seventh-grade student at the school, won the challenge in the category of individual student. She logged 1,825 minutes of reading over the summer.
“I am super, super proud, and I’m really excited because this feels good to win,” DuFresne said.
Her favorite summer reads were the Selection series by Kiera Cass, which was recommended to her through Readocity.
“Overall I think it was a really helpful program and it motivated a lot of people to read over the summer,” DuFresne said.
Walgreen plans to implement Readocity throughout the school year. “My goal is to continue to use this this year and to get more kids like Anna involved. And kids that aren’t as involved in reading, I want to get them excited about it, too.”
Vidya Joshi, founder and CEO of Readocity, is pleased with the impact that the reading challenge has had on the community. “The riveting success of the Summer Smart Reading Challenge two years in a row is a testimonial to the combined efforts of multiple organizations to drive impact and social change,” Joshi said. “We are fortunate to have partnered with Mass Literacy and passionate educators such as Ms. Walgreen in this initiative.”