When teachers began noticing that, over time, students were choosing to read outside of school less, they began to evaluate how to build a district and at-home partnership to encourage students to read.
Out of their brainstorming, research, and collaboration, “Edina Grows Readers” was born. Caroline Linden, the K-12 Literacy and Language Arts Coordinator for the district, explained that the research is there -- reading is important for kids, both reading personally and being read to. “We give kids time to read in school. That is something we have direct control over,” she said. “The thought process was how can we partner to encourage students to read outside of school. Any way we can influence that is going to have a positive impact on student achievement.”
“Edina Grows Readers” serves as a district framework to support and encourage families with reading outside of school. The goal of the campaign is to increase the amount of time students read outside of school through book suggestions, reminders about the importance of reading, and other resources for improved literacy. The team of teachers and administrators who helped develop the campaign hope to see increased engagement with reading and a newly cultivated love of reading together in families.
