In looking at our summer reading program, the media specialists and teachers in each of the buildings suggested that changes be made to the program to truly reflect our aims for our young readers.  In our high school, this year marks the second year of our "One Town, One Book" project.  The selection for this year is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon.


The changes you will see implemented at the elementary and middle levels reflect input from many community members, teachers, administrators, and students. Our goal is to foster a love of reading, to capitalize on the instinctive curiosity of children, and to create a community of readers within our schools. As a district, we are passionate advocates of reading. In the past, students were given a list of at least three books from which they were to choose one to read for the upcoming year. This year, the students have a much larger range of choices to look at, and we are not placing any requirement on the students to read. Students may choose to read as many or as few of the books on the list as they choose to.


When the students arrive in school in September, they will be working with their classroom teacher at Helen Morgan, Mrs. Bernardo at Alpine, and with Mrs. Caputo at the middle school to build a community around the books they read. In the past, classroom teachers have been in charge of working with the students' summer reading. This year, to help foster our sense of a community of readers within the building, our teachers and media specialists will be working to help the students connect their summer reading experience to their learning in the current year. We are busy lining up projects, activities, and other ways to build enthusiasm for reading at the elementary and middle school level.


The new lists, especially at the middle school level, are grouped by genre to help your child choose a book that will appeal to their interests. You will also notice that each list spans across a range of reading levels to encourage children to read something they are comfortable with or to possibly take a risk with a more difficult book. There are also different authors and series so that children can follow a character or topic they enjoy from one book to the next. In addition to the break from the routine and rigor of the classroom to recharge and renew, we feel it is important for the elementary and middle school child to continue to work on their reading skills during the summer months. If given appropriate guidance and suggestions in this area, students can maintain a healthy level of independent reading, especially with your support.