December 2018: Total Granted: $31,750
Overview
The Reading Workshop Model, A District Priority
Andover Public School is in the first year of a three year implementation plan to introduce the Reading Workshop model in the elementary schools. Reading Workshop is designed to engage students in independent and shared reading using literature that is tailored to each child’s proficiency and interests.
This Reading Workshop model also complements two new curriculum programs in the district: the Fountas & Pinnell classroom reading program and the Full Option Science System (FOSS). These curriculum programs require a significant amount of high quality, diverse texts in each classroom library. In order to provide our students with the high volume of reading material they need to be successful with these new curriculum programs and the Reading Workshop, we need to grow our classroom libraries with engaging, relevant, and quality literature.
Leveraging ACE’s Literacy Grant
Working with the APS Administration, ACE recently provided a literacy grant of $31,750 to support the Reading Workshop model. This gift from ACE has jumpstarted the district’s procurement of diverse book collections, curated by the Teacher’s College, Columbia University Reading & Writing Project Leadership Team, to expand the classroom libraries in all five elementary schools. This initial purchase provides a significant collection of books for kindergarten, ensuring that our youngest learners have a wide range of texts as they begin their educational journey in Andover. Looking ahead, the Andover Public School district is committed to support this initiative as it will provide our students with the literacy resources they need to become confident, independent and lifelong readers.
