Mountaineer Summer Reading Program 2007
Media Centers in Cove Creek, Mountain View, Bethlehem, West Lenoir, Traphill, Sparta, and Valdese Elementary Schools will have $300 dollars to add to their budgets for this year. Dr. Charles Duke presented monetary awards to these schools in Watauga, Ashe, Alexander, Caldwell, Wilkes, Alleghany, and Burke Counties in recognition of their students achieving the highest rate of participation in the Mountaineer Summer Reading program in their respective schools.
The Mountaineer Summer Reading Program was a collaborative effort between Appalachian State Athletics and the Reich College of Education. Its purpose was to support and encourage literacy among students in first through eighth grades in the ASU Public School Partnership public schools. Students were rewarded with a variety of incentives based on the number of books they read during the summer months of June, July and August. The reading period began at the start of each district's summer vacation and ended the first day of school. Students were required to read the books under parental supervision, and their school's media center director was responsible for certifying the grade level appropriateness of the books and for reporting the total student and school tally to the Mountaineer Readers' coordinator. Each student who began the program received a Mountaineer Summer Reading Program bookmark, which also entitled the student to one free youth football ticket. Due to exceptional ticket demand, these bookmarks can also be redeemed throughout Mountaineer basketball season.
A total of twenty-eight Partnership schools completed the Mountaineer Summer Reading Program. Collectively, 11,974 students read a total of 27,433 books. Individual student readers and their schools earned several levels of recognition.
In addition to a bookmark voucher redemption, the top grade level readers in each county, along with their parents and the school principal, received tickets to the ASU-Georgia Southern football game, an official Mountaineer Reader backpack, a tour of the ASU field house, activities in the Family Fun Zone, and a tailgate picnic on Sanford Mall - complete with visits from the ASU cheerleaders and marching band. Mr. Charlie Cobb, Director of ASU Athletics, and Dr. Charles Duke, Dean of the Reich College of Education, joined in the celebration as the top three readers in each county and their principals were recognized on the field at halftime festivities by over 25,000 cheering football fans.
Click thumbnails for larger image and slide show
In addition to the game day festivities, the Reich College of Education recognized the school in each Partnership county with the highest percentage of readers with a $300 award to their media center.
Click thumbnails for larger image and slide show
The foundation for successful student readers begins with reading early and reading often. The Mountaineer Summer Reading Program is proud to have been a part of that foundation. The Program salutes all participating school and their summer readers!
Contact Kathy Howell (howellkh@appstate.edu) for more information about Mountaineer Readers 2008.
