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EXEMPLARY PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM AWARD
Overview of Award | Eligibility | Submission of Entries | Award Winners
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Enthusiastic Readers
Program Name: Enthusiastic Readers Area 3: Outside Resources: Uniqueness of the Partnership between Freehold Regional High School District and Freehold Barnes and Noble to facilitate the Enthusiastic Reader Program: Essayist Joseph Addison wrote, "Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body." In today's world it is not unusual for young people to go to extremes to hone their bodies, but the simple task of reading which hones their minds is often neglected. Research has shown that time spent reading correlates with academic success, vocabulary development, standardized-test performance, attitudes toward additional reading, and the development of world knowledge (Moore, Bean, Birdyshaw & Rycik, 1999). The National Assessment of Educational Progress documents that students who never read for fun often have low reading ability and avoid recreational reading (National Institute for Literacy 2002). Unfortunately, this information is the reality for youngsters in most high schools, but the Freehold Regional High School District and the Freehold Barnes and Noble have partnered to promulgate reading beyond the classroom as an activity that reaps the same accolades that students receive when they achieve in sports, music, community service or any other arenas. Thus, the Enthusiastic Reader Program was developed to foster teenage literacy and to recognize the achievements of students who read independently beyond the classroom. Specifically the success of the Enthusiastic Reader Program would not be possible without the unique partnership forged between the Community Outreach Department of the Freehold Barnes and Noble Booksellers and the Freehold Regional High School District. Carol Curren, the Community Outreach Manager, works closely with the schools, procuring authors to interact with our students and suggesting titles for our students to read. All of the authors who have visited have been contacted by Barnes and Noble and have agreed to travel to the school and work with the students at their own expense. Also, the books are purchased from the store at a substantial discount. Area 5: Stability: The Program's Stability: In 1996 the administration of Howell High School noted a decline in the HSPT reading scores, which necessitated an entire school reading initiative, which is still a major focus within all disciplines. The Enthusiastic Reader Program was initiated at this time. Students are nominated for this award because they exhibit the following guidelines that were adopted from the New Jersey Connection, a consortium of educators and business people who promoted reading:
By the October 1997 HSPT testing, the reading scores went from 88.6 to 90.4 and the HSPA scores have remained above the 90-percentile range consistently in Language Arts Literacy. Since the program proved to be so successful, each year students were nominated and recognized for being Enthusiastic Readers. In April of 2002, the Enthusiastic Reader Program was initiated throughout the six high schools of the Freehold Regional High School District. To celebrate the expansion of this program, Barnes and Noble procured author A. Manette Ansay who wrote Vinegar Hill, an Oprah Book Club selection, and 125 students received copies of her book, listened to her speak and interacted with her at a luncheon. In April 2003, 270 students from the six high schools received the Enthusiastic Reader Award and they met with Booker Award winning author Paul Watkins who wrote Stand Before Your God and The Forger. Lastly, on May 6, 2004, author Jodi Picoult, who wrote The Pact and My Sister's Keeper, will speak to approximately 300 students who once again will be honored as Enthusiastic Readers. The partnership established between the Freehold Regional High School District and Barnes and Noble has consistently recognized readers since 1996 to 2004. Area 1: Goals: The Partnership's Relationship to the Core Content Standards:
The primary goal of the Enthusiastic Reading program fostered by the aforementioned partnership is congruent to the above Core Content Reading Standard 3.1, which is for students to read independently with fluency and comprehension so that they become lifelong readers and learners. As stated in the NJDOE explanation of the standard, "students benefit from 'daily opportunities to read books they choose for themselves, for their own purposes, and their own pleasures' (Calkins, 2001)." The Core Content Standard continues to state that students should read grade-appropriate self-selected literature "in order to grow as readers and deepen their understanding of texts." In addition, "students need many opportunities to think about, talk about, and write about the texts they are reading." This partnership provides students with the opportunity to talk about what they read, not only with their peers, but with professionals who make books their business, as well as highly regarded authors. It generates excitement for independent reading. Thus, philosophically, the mission of the partnership between the Freehold Regional High School District and Barnes and Noble is to develop global lifelong independent readers who talk about books in their classes and use what they have read to gain a greater understanding of not only curricular topics, but also the world at large. This goal mirrors the NJDOE standard 3.1 as well as reinforces standards 3.3 speaking and 3.4 listening. Area 2: Activities: The Partnership Between the Freehold Regional High School and Barnes and Noble Activities: The activities of the partnership between Freehold Regional and Barnes and Noble Enthusiastic Reader Awards are the recognition of students who read independently beyond the classroom by bringing noted authors into the schools, giving the students copies of their books to read, and inviting the youngsters to have breakfast or lunch with these authors to discuss their books. The following have been part of this program: Paul Zindel, Todd Strasser, Donna Jo Napoli, Paul Watkins, Charles Siebert, Peter Genovese, Mary Jane Clark, A. Manette Ansay. The students are sometimes encouraged to bring a guest who is an unenthusiastic reader and parents are invited. All guests, whether students or parents, are given copies of the books, which are signed and personalized by the author. As a culmination to the event, each student is given a certificate recognizing that they have been nominated to receive the Enthusiastic Reader Award. In addition to facilitating the Enthusiastic Reader Program, our Enthusiastic Readers have been invited to participate in the in-store book chats and author visits. In fact, on several occasions, both Freehold Regional High School students and teachers were featured presenters for the public at large. Furthermore, through the relationship established with Barnes and Noble, the teachers are continually provided with staff development that mirrors what the students enjoy via the Enthusiastic Reader Program. Authors such as Bob Danzig and Paul Watson discuss their books with the teachers during staff development opportunities. Teachers are also encouraged to read the same books that the students are reading and to have book chats among themselves. Lastly, Barnes and Noble staff members come to the school and share the latest titles with the teachers in order to keep them apprised of the current trends in literature. In fact, Barnes and Noble will be presenting at a district-wide staff development program for English teachers at Freehold Township High School on March 24, 2004 to discuss "What is New in Fiction" and "How to Run a Book Chat." The workshops will enable the teachers to converse about the latest books with their students and to continually generate excitement for independent reading. Area 4: Evaluation: Impact on Targeted Populations: Even though the Enthusiastic Reader Program provides learning opportunities for all students, the selection process does not preclude any specialized population; in fact, it targets recognition for special education and basic skills learners. The criteria for selection are the same for all students, which is to show an enthusiasm for reading and to read independently beyond the classroom. The beauty of the program is that the special education and basic skill learners who are not often admitted to rigid academic societies can meet the objectives of the Enthusiastic Reader Program This gives these youngsters the opportunity to be a part of a select group of students who enjoy reading beyond the classroom and to feel a sense of accomplishment for being recognized to attend the Enthusiastic Reader Awards. Parents often comment that this is the only achievement that their children have received and they are extremely proud of them. The benefits of independent reading can be gained on any level, but research shows that the growth in reading metacognition is most significant if one can encourage struggling readers to find enjoyment in reading books. With the recent initiation of No Child Left Behind, the Enthusiastic Reader Program has become even more vital to the success of special education and basic skills students. Area 6: Endorsements: Evidence of support from those involved in the activity: The following comments from students were taken from surveys given to the students in order to assess how they felt about the program: "It makes me feel better about reading. I enjoy being acknowledged for what I do." "I don't feel weird anymore. There are many people who love 2 read just like me." "It's great, all of my friends were asking me "You read?!" In fact I really do, I like to read all the time. Books are great-It's like a great dinner topped off with ice cream, sprinkles and a cherry." "Paul Watkins was introduced to me through the program, and I am now a fan. It has opened my eyes to other readers in the community and Watkin's own life." "Paul Watkins made me see a real person behind the words and now when I read a book I always think that I am actually reading someone's mind (literally) Very fun book to read especially hearing the author make me like it a lot more" "The enthusiastic Reader Program influence my attitude because it's great to be recognized for something I do and I can talk to other kids in the program that read also like at the lunch, I made friends with other kids from other schools and we traded titles of books and maybe I'll discover a new genre of books or author that I like. The speaker influence me because he got so into it and made reading and writing great and he was very interesting to listen to and he taught me things about writing. The book that we read for today was great it's just the type of book that I like. It's interesting to read about other peoples experiences and be able to compare and the book was also funny." Actual student written responses for the above statements:
The following is an e-mail from a participating author: Hi Cyndee, The following is a statement from Barnes and Noble regarding our partnership: Promoting student reading beyond the classroom has been a focus of
Barnes & Noble on both a corporate and local level. With this goal
in mind, the Freehold NJ Barnes & Noble has partnered with the Freehold
Regional High School District for more than eight years to provide students
and teachers with a variety of opportunities to interact with literature.
Our Annually, our Community Relations Department procures authors as keynote
speakers for the Enthusiastic Readers Award Ceremony. These authors have
included Jodi Picoult, A. Manette Ansay, Paul Watkins, Mary Jane Clark
and Charles Siebert. In order to generate excitement for independent reading,
a store representative visits the district high schools to keep the teachers
apprised of the latest titles and we host both in-store and in-school Carol Curren The following is a copy of a letter commending Barnes and Noble for working with the Freehold Regional High School District: Howell High School English Department March 14, 2002 Marcia Furst, Regional Director Dear Ms. Furst: As an English Supervisor in a high school, it is always a challenge to get my students to read independently and my teachers to stay apprised of currents trends in literature. Over the past six years it has been my pleasure to run author visits for my students, an Enthusiastic Reader Program which rewards youngsters for reading independently beyond the classroom, and many staff development programs. All of these events have been made possible with the expertise of Carol Curren the Community Relations Manager at the Freehold, New Jersey Barnes and Noble. She has been such a valuable resource to me that I have come to depend on her literary prowess whenever I need help with a program. In fact, she is the first phone call I make because she always garners the same enthusiasm that I have for the task at hand. The Freehold Regional High School District is the largest secondary school district in New Jersey. Carol has not only helped me coordinate programs at Howell High School, the school at which I am supervisor, but for all six of our high schools. She has made such significant contributions to our English programs that without her our students and teachers would not have become acquainted with the many authors that they have come to enjoy. The books that we have purchased to enhance these programs have all been winners and the accolades that I have received for initiating these events should certainly be shared with Carol. Thus, the purpose of this letter is to tell you what a wonderful employee you have in your organization. Sincerely, Cynthia Baumgartner The following is a newspaper article with comments from staff members, students, and the author involved:
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