The SWMS 20 Book Challenge

The #swms20bookchallenge has taken off and spread across the country which is pretty freaking exciting. I've presented several times at conferences and Professional Development days and it has spread across our district and even our state. Recently I began getting emails or direct messages on social media asking me questions about it from all over the country. It's a great program but it is so hard to explain in a brief way, especially in 140 characters or less.

So here ya go...the basics.

How We Started:
We needed something that would really, truly get our students to read. SO VERY MANY of our students come to us significantly below grade level in reading or they've just lost their love for books. Let me be clear, not all of our students meet this description. We had some students who are high-flyers and tons of kids who have always liked to read but we have a large number of students who really struggle. I was a brand new Media Specialist and our Literacy Coach at the time was also brand new to her position. Our school doesn't have Reading Counts or AR. Our school had tried some school-wide reads of a single book but that just wasn't really working anymore. One of the greatest reading teachers of all time, Diamelia Christie, came to me and said she'd been reading Donalyn Miller's books and wanted to do a 20 Book Challenge with her students. She asked me if I could help her with it and help them find books that fit in those categories. After looking at it and talking about it with our Reading Coach and English Department Head, we decided to try and make that our school-wide read for the year instead of just doing one book for the masses.

We took it to our administration and they told us we could try it but they seemed a little skeptical. We took the categories of the books and we ran with it. Within two or three weeks we had it ready to roll out to the whole school. We wanted some accountability so we built a Google Classroom and had a Google Form for each category. The students had to log in and "log" their book by completing the form with a short response question that would tell us if they read the book or not. Once the students logged their book, we read their response and either gave them credit or asked them to resubmit their response. Let me just add, that our ELA Department Head, Katy McGregor, is the Queen of all things Google and she totally rocks my socks off. She makes my life SO much easier. She builds all of our Google stuff and makes us all look smart. 😜

Our Reading Coach at the time, Brandy Griswell, is a rock star of epic proportions (who has since been promoted to an Assistant Principal of Curriculum at another school) and she called ALL the local businesses and got donations for us to give away as prizes. Once a month we'd go into the cafeteria and draw names. The more books logged, the more times your name was in the drawing. We gave away prizes like gift cards to the local Chick-fil-a or the local ice cream joint. The kids really started getting into it. Prizes are not something Donalyn Miller would go for but it works for us. It started out as an incentive and helped motivate the kids to get started.

In December, she started pulling their data and showing it to the team teachers and they were blown away. The students who were actively participating in our challenge had HUGE reading gains in just 3 months. Once they saw the data, the rest of our staff got on board and our admin team really became believers and started promoting the program as hard as they could.

We themed everything around the challenge so it was literally school-wide. I tagged the books on the shelves for which categories they could count as, set up book displays for some categories, and even tagged all the books in the book fair. We made Florida Literacy Week into The 20 Book Challenge Literacy Week. We printed posters and banners and hung our propaganda all over the school.

Results:
We ended up having a ton of books logged (2,828 to be exact) and had 25 students who finished the challenge. We built them swag bags with prizes and new books and then they all got to go to a local restaurant and have lunch with our principal and get to order whatever they wanted on the menu. I'm going to be really honest. We thought the prize was super lame but we couldn't afford anything else. I was blown away by how much the kids loved it and how excited they were to be able to pick whatever they wanted on the menu. We kept them out of class all day and then pulled all the kids who had logged 10 books or more into the cafeteria for a giant ice cream sundae party. They had a great time!

Changes for Year 2:
In the first year, our principal was very clear that the reading should be done outside of the classroom. He didn't want instructional time to be missed. Now, I could spend a solid 4 hours writing about the value of independent reading and discussion in the classroom and how it would meet all the standards and then some but that is another post for another day. We took what we could get in year one. In year two, the students were allowed to read during class for independent reading or as the assignment for when they had finished their work. The students were also given opportunities to log their books during warm up activities during class.

We changed our categories to be more flexible and meet the needs of our students. We found that many of the students who didn't finish the first year, didn't stop reading, they stopped logging because they found books they loved that didn't fit into the categories. We wanted to still challenge the kids but we also wanted to allow them the choice they so desperately crave. We wanted them to read what they love and be able to squeeze it into the challenge.

We worked to adjust the prompts to more closely mirror what they'd see on state tests but still feel like they are just talking about a good book. We wanted the skills tested to shine through with a text they enjoyed. Now let me be clear, we aren't trying to drill the kids to death. We use these prompts and logging their books as a conversation between them and us about the book they read. It isn't a grade or an essay or a test. The students write about the characters, the things that surprised them what they loved or didn't love. We prompt them to think and then respond and then we respond back to them.

We changed our feedback method and started using Google Classroom's grading feature to send individualized feedback to each student and really help them see what they were missing from their responses. With increased participation also came the need for additional grading so both of us (Literacy Coach & Media Specialist) took on that role.

We also added to our list of literacy-based events including Banned Book Week, Book Fair, March Madness Book Tournament, Book Bash, Book Launch Party, etc. and really worked to increase the hype.

We didn't give out any prizes throughout the year. We just had a HUGE celebration day.

Results:
We thought we had huge results for year one but they were just a drop in the bucket compared to our year two. We had the same numbers in December  (year two) as we had at the year's end of year one. We had 38 students finish and 12 teachers too. We scored over 10,000 responses and broke Google Classroom. 82% of our ENTIRE school willingly and actively participated in our challenge. Our students had books with them all the time and not just the ones you'd expect. I could share countless stories of students who had never seen success with reading that finished our challenge this year including students who struggled with English as their second language.

Our celebration day included jump time at a local trampoline park, a catered author lunch with Christina Diaz Gonzalez, an author session with her for all the students who logged 11 books or more, each finisher got an amazing t-shirt and they got a brand new book of their choice.

Changes for Year 3: 
Coming off of year two, the students are excited and so is the staff. We needed to solve some of the issues we found during year two so this year are going from one massive Google Classroom with the whole school in it to two Google Classrooms, one per grade. Katy is a genius and decided we should make one Google Form with 20 sections instead of 20 different Google Forms. This will help us cut down on students logging the same book for more than one category (be it on accident or on purpose). It will also help the students see which books/categories they have credit for and makes the whole process more streamlined for us and the students. We also have new categories that I'm SO excited about. We tie our Sunshine State Young Readers Award (SSYRA) books into the categories and our students can use our Project Lit books for this as well.  My favorite categories for this year are probably A Book Written in Verse, A Diverse Book--meaning a book about someone who is very different than themselves, and A Book You've Previously Abandoned. We are working to push the kids from thinking of reading as school work and seeing it as something they want to do and discuss.

We really love this program and what it does for students. We love the choice the kids have and how it has pushed them so far outside of their comfort zones. When one program can get so many students who come to us below grade level to be excited about the amazing books that are out there, you know you have something magical on your hands. 

This program can be adapted for a single classroom, a grade level, or for your particular school. It is being implemented in about 12 other schools in our district, several across our state, and a few in other states as well. If you aren't ready to start your own challenge but want to join us, please do! Just tweet out your books with our hashtag and tag me on Twitter. We'd love to see it! Currently NYT Best-Selling Author Tiffany Jackson is participating with us because she wants one of our shirts. 

Please feel free to contact me with questions about our program, how it works, or really just anything else. Also, make sure you follow our #swms20bookchallenge hashtag to keep up with all the great things that are happening.

Book Review: Swing

One of the very best parts of my job is ALLLLLLL the books I get to read. Seriously. It's amazing and sometimes, when I get really lucky, I get to read these books before they are published. 

This weekend I had the incredible opportunity to read Swing, by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess which will be released on October 2. 

When I read a book, I'm looking for several things. 

• Any content/language issues that might cause an issue with parents
• Appropriateness for middle grades, specifically 7th and 8th as that is what we have at our school 
• Which students will this reach? Can my students see themselves in this book?
• Can I promote this book school-wide?
• Are there any curriculum connections that would make it a great book study? 
• Can I tie any maker space activities to this story?
• The cover: is it a book that looks like it is for elementary school kids or is it cool enough for middle schoolers? 

I do this for every single book I read. Now, don't get me wrong, I read the reviews and age recommendations but I don't rely on them. When I read the book myself, I have all the answers I need. I know what's in my collection. I know what my students will like. I know what gets snatched off the shelf with students fighting over who saw it first and what will sit there collecting dust unless I intervene. I know what the parents of MY students will be upset about and which parents will just be happy their kid has a book. 

I thought today I would share what I found while reading this beautiful book. Please don't take my word for it or think I'm some fancy-pants reviewer for Kirkus or SLJ. I'm not a professional reviewer. I'm just a middle school librarian who loves to read. Do your homework but here is what I found. 

I didn't find any real content or language issues that would be a problem in MY school setting. The main characters are juniors in high school and deal with some things that kids in high school are dealing with, but honestly, they are dealing with it in middle school too, and there is nothing in there that will prevent me from putting this on the shelves in my school. No language issues. No steamy scenes. Kwame told me it was for grades 7 and up and I completely support that. It is completely appropriate for my students. 

With some books, I have to work hard to convince the kids that it's a good book, especially when it has a cover geared more towards younger students. I'm going to be really honest, all I'll have to do is say Kwame's name and the kids will fight over it. I probably could not even say a word about this book and just put it out up front and the kids would grab it. They already know it's coming and they are already asking me to make a list for the first kids who will be able to check it out. Plus, the cover is just AMAZING!!!! Kudos to Blink Publishing because this cover is definitely something kids will pick up. 

Will it reach my students? Will it speak to them and their life circumstances? YES. So many of students have been through some hard things including rejection. There is so much resilience in this book and I love that Walt just keeps pushing to reach his goals. There is quote in this book that I love so much because it also speaks to some of the hard things I have been through in my life: 

There are SO MANY curriculum connections in this book with art, writing standards, and music, plus it is a great platform to discuss current events. Our students are not ignorant of the things happening around them, and many of my students have experienced social injustice in their lives. Our GAPP students did a Privilege Walk Friday and it was so powerful to see these students stepping forward every time an advantage had been afforded to them or stepping backwards when their life circumstances had made things that much more challenging. Each one of them had things they had to step forward for and things they stepped backwards for. You can do SO MUCH with this book! 

There are lots of cool maker space activities that I could see doing with this novel. First of all, lots of baseball activities that could tie in with Math (velocity of a swing or pitch anyone?), black-out poetry, coding Ozobots to play the melody of some of the Jazz songs mentioned, design challenges with lots and lots of American flags, letter writing stations, a sewing station (so Noah could fix...well, you'll find out...), etc. You could also do some amazing Soctratic seminars using this novel and some current events articles. You could also do some great activities demonstrating the value of people working together instead of against each other. 

Overall, I loved this book. It gave me all the feels. Give it all the stars. There were moments where I cried and moments where I laughed so hard. The book is written in verse, which my students love, and integrates some beautiful artwork in real-life application. Kwame and Mary did such an incredible job writing Solo and this is just as great. Go pre-order it now! You won't be sorry! 

Getting Out of My Comfort Zone

Most of my two years as a Media Specialist have been spent trying things I had no idea how to do. Lots of risks with grant writing, Maker Space, and even just the position itself.  I second-guess myself often, although less now than when I started. You see, I didn't get a Master's Degree to be a School Librarian and I'm often reminded by others who have been in this longer than me that I don't have one. I didn't do the program but instead passed a certification exam which is an option here in Florida. Please don't think I'm unqualified. I am state certified to teach English/Language Arts 6-12, Reading K-12, ESOL K-12, and Media K-12. I just didn't take the traditional route to get here.

Sometimes I start to think that I can't do things as well as others because of that but then I look back on all the great things that have happened in my short stint as a Media Specialist and it is a good reminder of all the things I can do.

So much of my job is about innovation. Innovation with creative lessons, with technology, and even with how to promote reading to kids in a way that will excite them. Innovation always comes with risk-taking and that is something I've become quite accustomed to. I really don't even get nervous about it anymore.

Today was one of those days where I took a risk with instruction and it paid off in a big way.

A couple of times a year our Gifted and Advanced team has seminar days where the whole day is changed up and they rotate around to different people and learn some really cool things that will challenge them. I'm so incredibly blessed that I get to be part of these days and part of the rotations. Today was our first GAPP seminar and this incredible team of teachers (they are seriously the greatest educators I've ever encountered in all of my career!) told me I could do whatever I wanted with the kids.

Originally I was thinking about using our new iPads and tablets and the Dash robot and Spheros we have and having them work with those but these first two weeks of school have been insane. I haven't even made a dent in my to-do list and the list is always ever-growing. I'm so thankful for what I do but because I'm so behind, that means I definitely had not gotten around to charging them all up and getting everything ready for this.

A few weeks ago, my friend and rockstar Media Specialist, Ana lead a professional development session on using Ozoblockly to code the Ozobots from the computer. I'd never really tried it before because I assumed they had to be plugged into the computer. They don't. She showed us some cool things you can do with them and showed us the lesson library. I was so impressed and definitely wanted to try it.

Well, yesterday at 5:00 pm when I needed to leave school to pick up my daughter from volleyball, I decided today would be the day to try it. I plugged in all the Ozobots and left school.

This morning I set up a slide with some basic instructions and decided that if anyone could figure out how to do this, it would be these overachievers who live for this kind of thing.

I have to be honest with you. I made a few mistakes because I hadn't really spent enough time with it, however, a few of the kids in my first rotation had done this before and I let them be the experts. By the next group, I was ready to rock-n-roll.

We had a BLAST! I helped kids when they needed it and they showed me some amazing things that I didn't know could be done with these tiny little robots. Did you know you can program these things to play songs AND dance at the same time?!?!?! A 7th grader taught me that today when she coded her bot to play "Mary Had a Little Lamb." They already asked me if they can do it again when they come back.

Now that I've tested it out on them, I can feel much more confident going through the lesson library and using this with a variety of content areas. I'm already thinking of grants to write to buy another classroom kit so I have a full class set plus a few extras (as some of my Ozobots grew legs and walked away last year).

In the last few years, I have taken so many risks in my career. I took a risk by leaving the classroom. I took a risk writing some big grants to buy equipment like these Ozobots that I had no idea how to use. Starting a school-wide 20 Book Challenge in a school of so many struggling readers was a huge risk. Right now, I'm in the middle of planning something SO BIG I never even dreamed it would be possible. It very well might blow up in my face but if it doesn't, it'll be a memorable life event for these kids and maybe, just maybe, change their lives forever. I do so many kooky things in our library but they always turn out so beautifully. Even when things aren't right, even when you have to make adjustments or re-evaluate, it is always worth the risk. You see, following that process in front of the kids is a demonstration of innovation and the engineering skills we are trying to teach them. Letting the kids see you do something that makes you uncomfortable is such a teachable moment. Letting loose and having fun are the reason so many kids will keep coming back to your space over and over again.

Learning is fun and these kids need to know that just because it isn't on that state test doesn't mean it isn't worth doing. I tell these kids all the time that they will never grow if they only do what they've always done and the same is true for educators. One of the best lessons I ever learned from my dad is the value of doing something hard. We have to be willing to do what we are asking these kids to do. Plain and simple.

I have so much fun doing what I do and a lot of that enjoyment stems from days like today where I walk in saying, "I hope this works" and having a basic plan B, C, and D if it doesn't. The kids had a blast and I had more fun than they did.

Next week, I'll do something else I've never tried before and see how it goes.

The First Week Back at School

Our actual first day of school was last week on Friday. That's right, we started school on a Friday.

This week, we started our orientation to the Media Center. The students come in through their Language Arts classes and we go over the run down of how the Media Center works, what fun events we have planned for this year, any new information they may need for this school year, and the basics of our school-wide 20 Book Challenge. Then, every student leaves with at least one book. I start with the 8th graders first because most of them already know how I roll and it's just a bit easier. This week we had 3 full teams of kids come in, plus our self-contained students and our EBD Unit. We checked out just under 600 books in 3 and 1/2 days of checking out.

I pride myself on being innovative, making things engaging, and not lecturing the kids but I have to be honest with you. My orientation isn't very innovative. I've looked at scavenger hunts, Flip-Grid activities, animated videos (I tried that my first year), escape room scenarios, and I just can't really find a good way to make that work with the information I need them to know.

Many Media Specialist want to teach the students how to find books on their first visit there. I don't really do that. By middle school (in theory!) they have a basic understanding of how the library is set up and based on my experience, many of my students don't just browse the shelves. They look for the books I've told them about, or their friend suggested. They look for a book to fit their next 20 Book Challenge category. Because of this, I choose not to do book-finding activities with them. Plus, it really fills my heart with joy to see the line of kids waiting to tell me what they like and watch on Neftlix and then run across the library with me so I can find them just the right book. It doesn't teach independence but it does help shape their attitudes about books and shows them I think they are important and worth my time.

I started with a slide telling them who I was and what I can do for them, complete with a picture of me and Kwame Alexander, which the kids all freak out about. I love it because there is always a kid who says, "You know him?????" and then I earn some serious street cred.

I fill my presentation with photos and always try to make it about what they get out of coming to the Media Center and never about what I'm trying to force them to learn. I go over what all they can do in the mornings during patio time before class and cover all the fun events we are going to be having.

• Banned Book Week in September plus a photo of our activity they remember.
• The Scholastic Book Fair with a picture of me dressed like a taco. 
• Swing Launch Party with a photo of the cover of the book. 
• Big author visit that is in the works (!!!!!!)
• Project Lit
• Trips to the elementary school next door to read to Kindergarten students
• Florida Literacy Week in January
• March Madness 64 Book Book Tournament
• Book Bash for our Florida Sunshine State Young Readers Award books in April
• 20 Book Challenge Celebration in late April

The kids seem to get really excited when I start talking about these events and showing them pictures of the ones we did last year. One of the students said, "Mrs. Friday, let's be real. You know you're going to wake up in the middle of the night with some weird idea and then we're gonna do it. Those aren't all the events we will have this year." I'm not going to lie. I laughed so hard and then told her she was probably right. 

I hit all the Media Center rules and basic policies but I use Bitmojis which makes them laugh and also gives me a little more street cred. 

I show them pictures of our previous Scholastic Book Fairs and we talk about how our book fair isn't a regular book fair, it's a life event. I decorate the entire Media Center. I wear ridiculous costumes, we play music, I have stations set up. It's a thing and the kids love it. 

We talked about the Project Lit Community that we are going to be part of this year. I told them about some of the books on the list and explained that the books on the list are books that make a lot of adults uncomfortable because they don't want to talk about these sensitive issues or see things from someone else's perspective. I told them many of these books deal with social injustice and that they need to be mature to read them. This, in turn, made ALL the kids want to be part of Project Lit. #winning 

We take a few minutes to talk about our new SSYRA books for this year and I highlight some of my favorites and how to be able to participate in our Book Bash celebration. 

Last but not least, I go over the basics of our 20 Book Challenge and any changes for this year. I show them pictures of the celebration from last year and it makes all the kids excited. More to come about the challenge soon!

After I go over all this stuff, I help the kids find books and everyone checks out and reads until the bell rings. My orientation doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles. I have researched other ways to do it. I see other really amazing Media Specialists post what they do and it makes me feel like I'm not doing enough. I could do it better. I turn ideas around in my head but I always come back to this Google Slide presentation. Do you know why? Because these kids leave really excited about the library and reading. They leave ready to get started on their 20 Book Challenge. One of our 8th graders said to me Wednesday, "You know, I don't really like to read but I think you've changed my mind. I think I'm going to do the 20 Book Challenge this year and really try to finish."

Orientation wasn't the only thing I did this week but it was a big part of my week. I also spent time helping one of our reading teachers find something she can do with her ESOL class; They are going to read The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez in Spanish while they listen to the English version. If you haven't read it, you need to. Such a powerful story of leaving your native country and leaving family behind for a chance at better opportunities. I think it will really speak to these kids. I also started frantically scrambling to find money and make a plan when one of the nation's best-selling authors said he wanted to come to MY school. GASP!!!!!!! I built an Amazon wish list for some of our Project Lit books. I wrote a Donor's Choose grant. I shared resources with our staff, solved tech issues with Google Cloud access, unjammed some copiers for people, attempted to help get our TV studio up and running, searched for some professional resources for a staff member, helped a few substitutes, helped SO many lost 7th graders find the front office, answered 45,698,483 emails, and smiled a lot.

You see, a week in the Media Center is crazy. Lots of people come and ask you for lots of things and it is a joy to serve them all the best I can. I constantly have a lot of plates spinning in the Media Center. I feel like it's my job to serve my school in the very best capacity I can. That looks like a lot of different things for me. Yes, it keeps me busy and exhausted but it is so worth it to help a teacher out and help a kid be excited about a book.

I have a new principal this year and at lunch one day this week he said, "You know, I've been in a lot of schools. I mean A LOT. I've never seen a Media Specialist who is as aggressive as you." At first I was worried. I thought he meant something negative but he didn't. He saw the look on my face and said, "Let me explain. Most of the Media Specialists I've seen sit back and let people come to them. They help out here and there. They check out some books. But they don't actively seek out students and teachers and push all they can do. I've watched you promote your programs like it pays your check. That's good. It's important."

I wish what he experienced wasn't true. I've been in enough schools to know that it can be. I can't control that though. What I can control is to do what's best for kids and what is best for teachers and that is to give them all I've got. 100% of my energy and effort to make a difference in our school.

My Backstory: Brand New in the Media Center

I was hired to be the Media Specialist at The Great Southwest Middle School after having taught Language Arts and Reading for 9 years. The position had always appealed to me but I was afraid. I was afraid I wouldn't be knowledgeable enough. I was afraid teachers wouldn't want to work with me. I was afraid the students wouldn't respond well to all the ideas I had tucked away.

The Media Specialist before me was retiring after serving our school for 28 years. She was there when the school opened.

The first thing I did after it was announced that I would be taking over is that I sent out two surveys school-wide. One for teachers and one for students. It was so encouraging to see that many of the things teachers and kids wanted were the exact things I was planning on implementing. But there were several things that deeply saddened me. 60 % of the students who responded said they were uncomfortable coming to the Media Center for anything. They marked that they hated coming and that they only came when their teachers made them.

I made this my number one priority for my first year. I needed to make my Media Center approachable. A place where kids and teachers wanted to be.

The other thing that posed a challenge is that our collection had almost 20,000 books in it and over 14,000 of them were out-of-date, obsolete, or just plain gross and old...like with dead bugs in them. There was no comfortable seating at all, not much space for anything, and no color. In my first year, my assistant and I weeded ALL the books that needed to go, were able to clear out 3 large areas of shelving we no longer needed, and I found all the comfortable seating in our school and claimed it as my own. We even cleared all the primary source documents off the wall and painted it the most beautiful shade of bright aqua.

I wrote several grants to get us maker space materials because the other schools in our district were passing us by. Moment of honesty here: most of the maker space stuff were things I had no idea how to use but I figured I'd get there or someone could teach me. I just needed to get it in the building.

I scrounged up a lot of old board games and started putting them out in the morning for the kids to come in and hang out. I put out fancy coloring books. Opened up the computers for homework use. Most importantly, I opened the doors and smiled a lot.

Teachers were so excited to bring their students in for classes and the kids were starting to come on their own. SUCCESS!

But now I found myself with a new problem. Many (not all!) of our students come to us below grade level and are struggling readers. In past years our school had offered a school-wide read of a particular novel but participation had been slowly decreasing. We needed something new. One of our Reading teachers brought me an idea of a 20 book challenge she wanted to do with her students based on Donalyn Miller's The Book Whisperer. The Literacy Coach, our ELA Department Head, and I decided we should just do that as our school-wide read so we started our school wide #swms20bookchallenge. I'll be posting more about this soon in case you have questions about our book challenge.

From there, I started rolling the challenge our to our kiddos, we did a HUGE book fair where I dressed in costumes, the whole Media Center was decorated with the theme, and we had stations. The kids loved it so much. Then, they started reading.

In my first year as a Media Specialist, we cleaned up the collection, made it look like a completely different space (as much as we could), and did all the literacy events we could come up with. We had 64% of our entire school participating in our reading challenge. It was such an incredibly successful year.
  

As I was reflecting back on it, I couldn't believe how much we (not just me)  were able to accomplish in one year. I was amazed....and very tired.

Year two was last school year (2017-2018) and we just took what was already working and ran with it. We made adjustments to our reading challenge to build excitement and participation. We added more events including an author visit with Christina Diaz Gonzalez, Banned Book Week, a book launch party for Kwame Alexander's book Rebound (our kids can't get enough of his books!) , a 64 Book March Madness School-Wide Book Tournament (Kwame won), and Book Bash. I wrote more grants, ran more events, and we got even more kids reading. 82% of our entire school participated in our reading challenge.

I write this so you know where I started. I started as someone who was terrified of failure. I started as someone who had a big mess to clean up. What I've learned in two years as a Media Specialist is that no idea is too crazy, you can do anything with some great teacher friends and admin to support you, and that whatever big thing you hope you accomplish at your school can be done. You just have to find a way. 

This year is going to be amazing! Already we have become a Project Lit Community School, I'm working on some BIG author visits, we have refined our reading challenge even more, and I'm excited for a big year.

The whole purpose of this blog is to share some of these adventures with you. A place where I can share our successes and our failures. A place where you can see students learn to love reading and learning. A place with great book recommendations. A place of encouragement and a place that provides how-to's for all the insane things we come up with. I hope you will follow along on my journey and share any encouraging words or great ideas with me!