Help Me Build A Class Library To Engage and Inspire Teens

Funded Sep 2, 2011

It has been about two months since my classroom library was stocked with the books funded by your generous donations. Since then, my dream for a room full of engaged, inspired readers has become a reality. During our daily 20 minute reading time, students rush into class and quickly grab their books from the bookshelf, not wanting to miss a minute of the allotted time. I barely even need to start class as students are already seated and reading before the bell even rings. During reading time, the room is silent except for the sound of turning pages. Students even groan in disappointment when I have to tell them that reading time is over!

Your donation has helped to prove the power of high-interest, age-appropriate and topical literature for high-risk teenagers. These are students who have told me that they had no interest in reading before starting to read during our daily reading time and now can't put their selected titles down. Students are learning that there is a whole world of literature out there beyond "school books" and many are even taking the books home to read in their spare time.

As one of my students wrote in a thank-you card to one of our donors:

"I read two books, Stiches and Sources of Light. They are awesome and this is coming from a person who does not read. With the new books I actually read which is amazing."

What's been most exciting for me to witness as a teacher are the conversations students are having around books--recommending titles to each other, debating whether an ending was good enough for a great book and discussing character flaws and strengths. This is the kind of talk English teachers would kill for and it's all been made possible through the classroom library your donation helped to build.

Thank you all again and know that your donation is helping to build a group of enthusiastic teenage readers.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Housenick