CF Fitness Schools had the pleasure of sitting and reading with the LA Dodgers Foundation Reading Leading campaign to commence a 25,000 book reading challenge. Pitching alum Dennis Powell held a special read-along with students that concluded with Dodgers gear and a special message for the boys in blue. This innovative literacy program is a student reading initiative program that will run at all three Para Los Niños Charter Schools in Westlake-MacArthur Park, Skid Row and the Arts District.
Running for a total of 18 weeks, the program consists of network-wide and school site specific activities focused on reading –individually, as a class, as a school and with families– reading challenges/contests, tracking non-school reading time and holding workshops and events to engage parents and families in building literacy skills and sparking a love of reading.
The goals are simple: (1) Use competition to fuel accelerated reading by the students; (2) Develop a love of reading in the students; and (3) Improve overall literacy skills as reflected in standardized testing. The program will provide 35 classrooms across all three Para Los Niños schools (8 classes at Gratts Primary Center, 15 classes at the Charter Elementary School, and 12 classes at the Charter Middle School) with grade-level literature books.
The program requires each student to track the number of pages read and number of books completed on a weekly reading log signed by their parents. For each book completed, the student must provide a brief book report (1-2 pages depending on grade level), or other age-appropriate project to their teacher to ensure reading comprehension. The library media specialist and librarians are responsible for collecting the reading logs from the teachers and keeping track of individualized student reading as well as collective class reading.
Stay tuned for more exciting updates as this reading challenge gets underway!
