One School, One Book
Model Schools
2008 Model School: Fox Elementary
One School One Book program stimulates reading interest
When the principal is on board, then the joys and merits of an One School One Book program become evident to all. According to Daniella Jacobs, principal of William Fox Elementary School in Richmond, Virginia, “The experience of sharing the book opens up so many levels of conversation between students, teachers, and staff... I love walking through the halls/cafeteria during the program because all of the students want to talk with me about the book, about what I think, what they think, etc. It truly brings literature to life!”
Jacobs added, “If there is any one program that is doable for every school, this is it. It helps to create common knowledge, common vocabulary, and levels the playing field for all of us to come together and discuss something on an academic level.”
Five years ago, families at William Fox began reading E.B. White’s The Trumpet of the Swan at home. The school was initiating an One School One Book program, in which one book is selected and the entire school community—parents, volunteers, and teachers—reads that book at home over the course of an entire month to the children.
Every morning, former principal Gayle Hefty read a trivia question over the public address system, a question designed to pique and promote interest in the book, to encourage attentive listening at home, and to serve as a daily reminder of the program. Families and teachers were so pleased with the communal experience that the program has continued these past five years. In fact, the program has expanded under Jacobs to include two books a year—one read in the fall and one in the spring.
The One School One Book program was conceived by Bruce Coffey, Jr., a parent in Richmond. He was inspired when he heard Oprah Winfrey lauding an All City Read program in Chicago in which an entire city was encouraged to read and discuss a single book, To Kill a Mockingbird. (Chicago’s program was, in fact, originated by libraries in Seattle, and it has been duplicated in cities across the United States, including Richmond.)
Coffey asked himself, “Why can’t we do that in an entire elementary school? Get everyone talking about the same book. Include some participatory activities. Try to augment a culture of reading in the school.”
At the time, Coffey was working for a Richmond-based organization, Read Aloud Virginia, trying to improve elementary school reading ability and create lifetime readers by promoting the virtues of reading to students. The One School One Book was first intended as a kick-off program to inspire families to start the year by reading aloud at home. “We wanted to find a sly way to encourage families to read aloud at home, especially families that had never done so, but also families that never read chapter books out loud, and families who stopped reading aloud once their kids were old enough to read by themselves,” Coffey said.
According to Coffey, the larger purpose of the One School One Book program is to promote a culture of reading among young people. “People fret about the ubiquity of television and video games,” he said, “but we can change behavior. A generation ago, women smoked and drank when they were pregnant, and corporal punishment was commonplace. But today, we’ve created cultural taboos against those things. We can do the same thing—a positive thing—with reading out loud. Reading to your children should be something every responsible family does.”
While Coffey may talk in grandiose terms about the benefits of reading to children, elementary school principals have their eye on more prosaic concerns—raising test scores in reading. Those who have adopted the One School One Book program believe that reading to students at home can better acclimate and familiarize all children with vocabulary and sentence structure and improve their fluency and reading comprehension when reading on their own.
Coffey emphasized that getting the principal to support an One School One Book is the one key premise of a successful program. “It doesn’t matter who the enthusiastic promoter is,” he said. “If she’s all by herself, it’s an uphill battle. But if the principal says, ‘We will read this book to them,’ then everyone stands up and listens—students, teachers, parents.”
The One School One Book program at William Fox Elementary School has been copied by a handful of schools in Virginia, as well as by several other schools across the continental United States. The program is endorsed and promoted by the national reading organization Read To Them. For further information, visit the organization’s website at www.readtothem.org.
Picking the right books
One of the trickiest elements of the One School One Book program is picking a book that can interest an entire elementary school. The book must be easy enough to be understood by first graders, yet interesting enough to attract fifth graders.
To launch the program at William Fox Elementary School, school leaders selected The Trumpet of the Swan. They reasoned that while most people have read Charlotte’s Web, White’s other works are lesser known.
Since then, the school has tackled an array of books with different themes and styles, including the following (publication dates refer to most recent editions):
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo (Candlewick, 2001)
The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks (HarperCollins, 2003)
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech (HarperTrophy, 2003)
The BFG by Roald Dahl (Puffin, 2007)
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien (Aladdin, 2003, Newbery Medal winner)
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (HarperCollins, 2005)
2007 Model School: Northumberland Elementary
Parents Participating in Record Numbers!
What would you say if someone told you about a parent involvement program that had 60% of a school’s parents participating the first year of implementation…and as many as 85% in grades Pre K through 3rd in the following two years? No doubt this would be of interest to any school system. This occurred in a Virginia rural tidewater community near the Chesapeake Bay.
Northumberland Elementary School parents are participating in Read Aloud Virginia (RAV), a program that encourages and rewards participants for reading aloud nightly to their children every day (every child 20 minutes every day). They are encouraged to read two or three years beyond the child’s age (or reading level), so children can be exposed to more complex language, sentence structure, and more difficult content area, than can be read independently by the child. Parents initial a calendar nightly after reading aloud. Each child is asked to hand in one book report each month on a simple book report form, which parent and child complete together.
Northumberland’s School Superintendent, Clint Stables, E.ED, started out as an assistant principal at their middle school twenty-two years ago and has worked his way to the top. "I'm 100 % behind our Read Aloud Virginia program and believe that parental involvement is key. When the parents read aloud and the children listen, it builds a solid foundation for literacy skills as well as a stronger relationship at home. You should hear some of the positive feedback I hear from the community and our School Board. Reading scores are increasing and this program is a big factor."
Read Aloud Virginia Utilizes One School One Book Program
One of the most exciting Read Aloud Virginia activities conducted at Northumberland Elementary School this past year, was an “ONE SCHOOL ONE BOOK” event. The designated book was Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DeCamilla. This is a charming story about a girl and her dog, but more importantly about losses, love and survival. Each family wishing to participate purchased a copy of the book and some paid additional money to purchase scholarship books for families unable to do so. Chapters were assigned each night and soon EVERYONE wanted the book! Northumberland RAV Coordinator, Mrs. Jan Bates, said over 600 books was distributed (and the school population is only 680)! Soon custodians, school secretaries, special area teachers, paraprofessional aides, cafeteria workers and even members of the County Board of Supervisors ALL wanted a copy of the book. Daily trivia questions on the school morning show heightened interest, and NO ONE wanted to be left out! At a Spring Parent Information Night, many parents commented on how delightful this nightly reading became. Parents requested suggestions for other chapter books their families might enjoy as well. Already parents and children are asking what the book for next year will be, reports Mrs. Bates.
How did this parent program impact the school? Besides a general boost to the joy of reading, one could speculate that children’s listening literacy was affected positively. One possible example of this would be in 3rd grade. All 3rd grades ended the year with 100% of these 3rd grade parents reading nightly to their children. Coincidentally, the state achievement scores for 3rd grade showed marked improvement this year. On the Virginia State Standards of Learning Exam, 3rd graders scored 90% or better on 4 of the 5 categories. While this is due to a number of factors, we feel that their success with RAV had to have impacted their overall academic success.
One of the reasons RAV works at Northumberland Elementary School is due to a partnership with the Northumberland Woman’s Club. Volunteer club members help the RAV coordinator tally each classes monthly percentages and also read to children when a teachers asks for their assistance in reaching a classroom goal of 100% participation. They also support all special events both monetarily and with service as needed at these functions.
The year ended with a “Summer Reading/Summer Safety Ice Cream Social”, sponsored by the Northumberland Elementary School, the Northumberland Public Library and the Northumberland Woman’s Club. Participants at this event included the local Sheriff’s Dept. YMCA, Northumberland County Electric Cooperative, and the Virginia State Marine Police. For the past three years there has been a kickoff event for the summer reading program. However, this year the number of attendees doubled. Could it be that parents are seeing the value of reading? Could it be that the cycle of illiteracy is being broken?
It truly does take a community effort to impact family literacy. Read Aloud Virginia has thrust us toward realizing our literacy goals for ALL families in our county, where illiteracy has been generational. We are grateful that is changing.
If you or your school is interested in becoming a part of a network of ‘Read To Them’ affiliated schools, please check out our website readtothem.org. It is free for the first year and you can participate in conference calls with veteran read aloud school leaders like Jan Bates.