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Goal

Our project seeks to increase student literacy achievement by creating accessible, engaging classroom libraries and by providing meaningful reading incentives for students who reach personal goals in Accelerated Reader by earning AR Points.

Currently, our school does not have a dedicated library space, which limits students' access to high interest, age-appropriate books. Many of our students are striving to build positive reading habits and improve their reading comprehension and fluency, but their opportunities to explore books that match their interest and reading levels need to be expanded.

Students at our school often enter below grade level in reading proficiency, which presents a need for strong initiatives that deliberately target improving literacy among students. Without a school library, they have limited exposure to various literature, genres, and authors that can foster a lifelong love of reading. Providing well-stocked classroom libraries will allow students immediate access to books during class and free reading time, removing the barrier of limited resources.

Objectives:
1. Increase Reading Engagement: Encourage students to read more frequently by offering a wider selection of high interest books that are available to them.
2. Promote Literacy Growth: Support measurable gains in reading comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency through consistent, self-selected reading and AR goal setting.
3. Foster a Reading Culture: Recognize and celebrate reading achievement through tangible rewards, helping students associate reading success with intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
4. Support Learning Gains: Use AR data and STAR Reading Assessment data to monitor progress, aiming for measurable learning gains in reading proficiency between September 2025 through March 2026. 

 

Category

School-Wide, Grade-Level, Or Class Events/Programs - Parent Nights, Honor Roll Celebrations, EOY Events, etc. 

 

What will be done with my students

Our project consists of multiple strategies to directly target student reading engagement and proficiency. Currently, due to limitations related to a dedicated library on our campus, students will be given the opportunity to check out books from various teachers on campus. The titles available to these students will be modern, engaging, and varied to target a multitude of interests across our student body.

Additionally, we will provide rewards throughout the school year to incentivize students to read more books and take "AR tests" on these books to earn points. These points will be used to measure a student's progress over the 2025-2026 school year. Students will be rewarded in various intervals based on their progress using the Accelerated Reader program. These rewards will include 10% rewards given to students for each time the reach 10% of their yearly AR goal; 50% rewards given to students when they reach half of their yearly AR goal; quarterly rewards given to students who meet their points goal during each 9-weeks; and yearly rewards given to students who reach their annual AR points goal. These rewards will include snacks, drinks, fun prizes, AR parties, and a shirt and field trip for students who reach their full-year goal.

Student progress over the course of the year will be monitored using Accelerated Reader and the STAR Reading Assessment. Using these programs will allow us to keep track of progress students are making in their independent reading, as well as progress made in reading proficiency. We will utilize the STAR Assessment at the beginning of the year, middle of the year, and end of the year to enable us to have frequent and specific progress monitoring data available to make adjustments to student goals.  

 

Benefits to my students

We all know that the way to become a better reader is to read. An AR Incentive Program is a well-documented and measurable way to increase student reading engagement, therefore, increasing student reading levels and proficiency measures, as documented in STAR Reading assessments. Students are not allowed to have phones out on campus, but they are allowed books.

Since our start of a limited trial run of AR the last 9 weeks of school last year, teachers have reported a dramatic increase in student requests to read and a noticeable increase in fluency when they are reading aloud in the classroom. Students left the end of year AR party excited and hopeful for AR this school year. It took a few weeks to get the AR program back at our school this year, but returning students have been asking since the first week of school when we would start the AR incentive program again.

We have over 60% ESE population at our school, and teachers are working together to make sure students have access to appropriate reading materials across all grade levels and abilities, including encouraging the self-contained ACCESS classrooms to participate in the AR incentive program. Teachers funded last year’s AR party and rewards entirely out of pocket, and our reward was an excitement for reading that was ignited within our students. We are hoping your support for the purchase of high interest books we are missing in series and requested high interest series, as well as supporting the purchase of incentives and celebrations for our students will keep this reading excitement burning in our students.  

 

Budget Narrative

Due to the lack of a school library and the Destiny funds that accompany that, the only books we have available are in our classroom libraries which are donated or funded independently. We are requesting several books to help complete series or add series for our students. Also, with 75% of our students qualifying for free/reduced lunch, special food treats are the MOST requested items, via several student surveys. We also do not have a PTO to fund our AR program. We are asking for funding to support the typical AR incentive parties/rewards that students could qualify for in a typical school setting. We are requesting rewards at every 10% completion, 50% completion, and 100% completion of AR goals, as well as a celebration every quarter for being on target for that quarter. Our students are very limited in enrichment experiences and are very hopeful that an AR Field Trip is a possibility for reaching their goals. We picked a place that they voted for via student survey.

Book List:

A Corner of the Universe by Ann M. Martin ($6.74)

The Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork ($11.24)

The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron ($9.74)

Hatchet: Brian’s Hunt by Gary Paulsen ($8.21)

If Anything Happens to Me by Luanne Rice ($8.24)

Masters of Disaster by Gary Paulsen ($5.21)

Hatchet: Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen ($4.49)

The Girl in the Well is Me by Karen Rivers ($4.49)

Gamer Army by Trent Reedy ($5.24)

All The Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater ($8.24)

Dragon Girls #1: Azmina the Gold Glitter Dragon by Maddy Mara ($4.49)

Dragon Girls #2: Willa the Silver Glitter Dragon by Maddy Mara ($4.49)

Dragon Girls #3: Naomi the Rainbow Glitter Dragon by Maddy Mara ($4.49)

Ranger in Time: D-Day: Battle on the Beach by Kate Messner ($5.24)

Ranger in Time: Night of Soldiers and Spies by Kate Messner ($5.24)

Ranger in Time: Attack on Pearl Harbor by Kate Messner ($5.24)

Ranger in Time: Escape From the Great Earthquake by Kate Messner ($5.24)

Ranger in Time: Danger in Ancient Rome by Kate Messner ($5.24)

Ranger in Time: Long Road to Freedom by Kate Messner ($5.24)

Ranger in Time: Race to the South Pole by Kate Messner ($5.24)

Ranger in Time: Journey Through Ash and Smoke by Kate Messner ($5.24)

Ranger in Time: Escape from the Twin Towers by Kate Messner ($5.24)

Ranger in Time: Disaster on the Titanic by Kate Messner ($5.24)

Ranger in Time: Rescue on the Oregon Trail by Kate Messner ($5.24)

The Last Firehawk, Books 1-5: A Branches Box Set by Katrina Charman ($22.46)

Wings of Fire, Books 1-5 by Tui T. Sutherland ($22.19)

Wings of Fire, Books 6-10 by Tui T. Sutherland ($32.81)

Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan ($5.96)

Aru Shah: Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi ($6.71)

Marie Lu Collection Legend & Young Elites Series 6 Books Bundles by Marie Lu ($49.99)

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve ($8.39)

Predator’s Gold (Mortal Engines, Book 2) by Philip Reeve ($8.74)

Infernal Devices (Mortal Engines, Book 3) by Philip Reeve ($11.27)

A Darkling Plain (Mortal Engines, Book 4) by Philip Reeve ($9.00)

We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly ($7.10)

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before Paperback Collection by Jenny Han ($18.00)

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes ($6.99)

The Hawthorne Legace (The Inheritance Games, 2) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes ($6.99)

The Final Gambit (The Inheritance Games, 3) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes ($6.99)

The Brothers Hawthorne (The Inheritance Games, 4) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes ($9.73)

Games Untold (The Inheritance Games, 5) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes ($7.22)

The Last Kids on Earth and the Cosmic Beyond by Max Brallier ($8.22)

The Last Kids on Earth and the Midnight Blade by Max Brallier ($8.29)

The Last Kids on Earth and the Skeleton Road by Max Brallier ($7.96)

The Last Kids on Earth and the Doomsday Race by Max Brallier ($6.56)

The Last Kids on Earth and the Forbidden Fortress by Max Brallier ($6.52)

The Last Kids on Earth and the Monster Dimension by Max Brallier ($8.98)

The Ugly Truth (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #5) by Jeff Kinney ($8.20)

Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #6) by Jeff Kinney ($10.40)

The Third Wheel (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #7) by Jeff Kinney ($8.18)

The Long Haul (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #9) by Jeff Kinney ($10.27)

Double Down (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #11) by Jeff Kinney ($8.53)

The Meltdown (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #13) by Jeff Kinney ($9.98)

Wrecking Ball (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #14) by Jeff Kinney ($7.70)

The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus, Book 1) by Rick Riordan ($10.22)

The Son of Neptune (Heroes of Olympus, Book 2) by Rick Riordan ($11.23)

The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus, Book 5) by Rick Riordan ($14.46)


Books Total: $529.19


AR Incentive/Rewards

(10%) Skittles & Starburst Variety pack- 18 Count Box- 3@ 20.00 - $60.00

(10%) MARS Chocolate Full Size Candy Bars Assorted Variety Box 30 Pieces- 2@$40.00 - $80.00

(10%) 30 ct Capri suns-8 @ 9.50 each- $76.00

(10%)Flavor Packs of Chips, 42 ct –5 @ $20.00- $100.00

(50%) Needoh Nice Cubes 30 @ $6.00= $180

(Quarterly) 3 med Hungy Howies pizzas ($7.70 each)- $23.10 x4=$92.40

(Quarterly)Two litter drinks – 2.75 x 3= 8.25 x 4= $33.00

(Quarterly)Gift cards as prize- $5x5= $25

(100%) Admission to Emerald coast Zoo with feeding experiences 12.95 x 20 students ($259)

(100%) Lunch at Chick fila $11x 20 ($220)

(100%) AR Shirts- 20 at $15 ($300)

Shipping and handling, price changes (45.41)

AR Incentive/Rewards Total: ($1470.81)

 

 

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