Remember “Amelia Bedelia”? “Goodnight Moon”? Or how about “Make Way for Ducklings”? All childhood classics, they’re among the books suggested by Collier County Schools in a program that rewards students for reading over the summer.
Collier County Schools is determined to combat the “summer slide” – a loss of learning progress during the school break. It’s the third year for the Summer CCPS Classics Reading List, which is full of familiar titles appropriate for kindergarten through 12th grade. Chief Academic Officer Elizabeth Alves explained how they were chosen.
"Those books that have a moral or a lesson to be learned, those books that transmit some of the values that are really part of our American culture," she said.
"We took the opportunity, we solicited feedback from folks in our English language arts department, our media specialists, our board members and other folks for titles that we would want to include."
School officials were engaged in the process from the beginning.
"Several board members, many of the senior leadership here in the district, myself included, we picked a book from that list and did a little video highlight of why that was our favorite book," she said.
The books can be found easily, Alves said.
"We've engaged our community partners, our local libraries, Barnes and Noble, local bookstores." Some can be accessed digitally here.
Children turn in their reading logs when school starts and earn coupons from restaurants and entertainment venues for participating. For a link to the program and suggested books, click here.
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