Post by Go Plainedge! on Dec 18, 2006 9:58:28 GMT -5
This received amazing press converage and was a great motivator for the kids....as well as their community.
Principal to Sleep on Roof of School Building December 7th, 2006
As a reward for his students achieving their goal of reading 10,000 books in a school year, Principal Davies will be sleeping on the roof of the Harrington Park NJ School Building the night of December 7th. At the close of school, Mr. Davies will ascend to the roof as he is cheered on by students and parents. He will descend from his temporary and freezing sleeping quarters at 8:30am the following day.
Patty McGee created an innovative program at the Harrington Park Public School called 10,000 Books Project. It has taken the concept of reading and turned it into a community event that creates excitement, commitment, participation and results. Based on the research of Richard Allington (2000), volume of reading is one of the four essential components to an effective reading program. With its 10,000 Books Campaign, The Harrington Park School has challenged its student body to each take on the responsibility of reading 14 books this school year. The program is designed to bring excitement, goal achievement, team support and energy to the action of reading, elements that youth often find in sports and other stimulating activities.
No one ever expected the goal to be reached so early in the year, least of all Mr. Davies, who is now resigned to spending a wintry night on the roof of the school.
According to Ms. McGee, “if you can bring the same kind of excitement and teamwork children are used to in other parts of their lives, then it is realistic to expect they will pay the same kind of attention to the sport of reading as they do with their other activities, as long as you keep it challenging and interesting”.
The goal of the program was simple; get students to enthusiastically read a lot of books. The idea is to create a lot of excitement around the team goal of hitting 10,000 books which encourages students to constantly talk about the initiative and encourage fellow students to hold up their end of the bargain. Parents, teachers and the community play an important role in this. You need lots of participants to encourage the students to read on, help count the books read and make sure that when the year ends, the scales tip over the 10,000 book mark. A true community effort! Rewards such as making Mr. Davies sleep on the roof are also part of the equation for hitting significant milestones.
Dr. Adam Fried, Superintendent of the Harrington Park School System, charged Ms. McGee and her colleagues to “think big and bring us your craziest ideas”. Initially, some people thought 10,000 books in one school year might be a stretch. Now, Ms. McGee and fellow Librarian Jennifer Brackenbury are shooting for an even crazier idea----reading 25,000 in a school year. Why not? They already have read over 10,000 books!
The Harrington Park School is a K-8 school serving the small town of Harrington Park, NJ. Notable graduates of the school include Newark’s Mayor Corey Booker and Angela C. Santomero, the Creator/Executive Producer of the popular children’s show Blue’s Clues. Ms. Santomero claims her inspiration that led to the Blue’s Clues came from writing in her journals in Mr. Walker's class and reading to her little sister, Jennifer Brackenbury.
Principal to Sleep on Roof of School Building December 7th, 2006
As a reward for his students achieving their goal of reading 10,000 books in a school year, Principal Davies will be sleeping on the roof of the Harrington Park NJ School Building the night of December 7th. At the close of school, Mr. Davies will ascend to the roof as he is cheered on by students and parents. He will descend from his temporary and freezing sleeping quarters at 8:30am the following day.
Patty McGee created an innovative program at the Harrington Park Public School called 10,000 Books Project. It has taken the concept of reading and turned it into a community event that creates excitement, commitment, participation and results. Based on the research of Richard Allington (2000), volume of reading is one of the four essential components to an effective reading program. With its 10,000 Books Campaign, The Harrington Park School has challenged its student body to each take on the responsibility of reading 14 books this school year. The program is designed to bring excitement, goal achievement, team support and energy to the action of reading, elements that youth often find in sports and other stimulating activities.
No one ever expected the goal to be reached so early in the year, least of all Mr. Davies, who is now resigned to spending a wintry night on the roof of the school.
According to Ms. McGee, “if you can bring the same kind of excitement and teamwork children are used to in other parts of their lives, then it is realistic to expect they will pay the same kind of attention to the sport of reading as they do with their other activities, as long as you keep it challenging and interesting”.
The goal of the program was simple; get students to enthusiastically read a lot of books. The idea is to create a lot of excitement around the team goal of hitting 10,000 books which encourages students to constantly talk about the initiative and encourage fellow students to hold up their end of the bargain. Parents, teachers and the community play an important role in this. You need lots of participants to encourage the students to read on, help count the books read and make sure that when the year ends, the scales tip over the 10,000 book mark. A true community effort! Rewards such as making Mr. Davies sleep on the roof are also part of the equation for hitting significant milestones.
Dr. Adam Fried, Superintendent of the Harrington Park School System, charged Ms. McGee and her colleagues to “think big and bring us your craziest ideas”. Initially, some people thought 10,000 books in one school year might be a stretch. Now, Ms. McGee and fellow Librarian Jennifer Brackenbury are shooting for an even crazier idea----reading 25,000 in a school year. Why not? They already have read over 10,000 books!
The Harrington Park School is a K-8 school serving the small town of Harrington Park, NJ. Notable graduates of the school include Newark’s Mayor Corey Booker and Angela C. Santomero, the Creator/Executive Producer of the popular children’s show Blue’s Clues. Ms. Santomero claims her inspiration that led to the Blue’s Clues came from writing in her journals in Mr. Walker's class and reading to her little sister, Jennifer Brackenbury.