MHS starting cross-district book club to encourage literacy
Several MHS students went to Klager Elementary School to read with students there on their first Day of Service in October. They plan to work with Klager and Riverside, having older students provide reading and math help in December. Photo credit: Shannon Morton.
by Sara Swanson
Manchester Jr/Sr High School (MHS) teacher Carla Zygner announced this weekend that the high school has received a $500 literacy grant from Manchester Community Schools Foundation to support the creation of a cross-district book club with another school in the district. They don’t know for sure yet if it will be with Riverside Intermediate or Klager Elementary to start out, but the goal is to eventually have book clubs at both.
Zygner stated, “This project will bring students together to read, discuss, and connect through shared stories — helping to build community and a love of literacy that extends beyond our own school. In addition to supporting younger readers, the program will also provide leadership opportunities for our high school students, who will help guide and facilitate the book club discussions.”
Zygner explained that the idea for the book clubs came from rising concerns among MHS staff that literacy skills are dropping and many MHS students express a dislike for reading. This is a student council initiative, but all students in the high school will be able to volunteer. The older students will be bussed to the other school(s) during the day, so the greatest number of students will be able to participate.
She added, “We have multiple literacy initiatives in our building this year, from Ms. Morton’s ‘reader of the day’ to our English classes taking the time for daily reading to a Battle-of-the-Books the student council is organizing. Our hope for the book clubs is that by making reading a social activity where younger students have opportunities to connect with older mentors and talk about what they read, we may create positive connections with books and reading that benefit our students and our community for years to come.”
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