Bright Futures: School Partnerships

Children will maintain their reading achievement skills over the summer with support from Idaho libraries.

Children will read a minimum of 10 hours or read a minimum of 10 books during their summer break.*

*Read= reading independently and/or being read to(read alouds, audiobooks, online books)

• The public library and elementary school collaborate to minimize summer learning loss.
• Public library staff, the principal, and the school librarian collaborate to increase student participation in the public library’s summer reading program.
• Parents of elementary school children understand the importance of maintaining a consistent reading routine over the summer months.

Program Requirements:

• Publicly-funded public libraries may apply.
• Public library must provide regularly scheduled summer programs for the targeted school-age students during the application year. If your library is planning construction or remodeling this summer, and regularly scheduled programs will not be held in an alternate location, the library does not qualify for this program.
• Public libraries must partner with public elementary schools (private, parochial, preschools, middle/junior high schools, daycares, or home school organizations do not qualify).
• “Participation” in the library’s summer reading program must not be dependent solely on physical attendance at on-site library programs.
• Libraries that agree to track the number of students who read a minimum of 10 hours or 10 books will be given priority.

Program Details:

1. Libraries can partner with up to five schools.
2. Meet with each school’s principal and librarian in person. Develop a Summer Reading Challenge that involves the whole school or that targets specific grades. The Reading Challenge must include:
   • A goal that at least 20% of children in the target grades will participate in the public library’s summer reading program.
   • A reading output goal for the school (total minutes read, books read, books per child, etc.).
   • A plan for promoting the Challenge to students and parents, as well as teachers and staff.
   • A plan for increasing students’ access to books and other print materials over the summer.
   • A plan for monitoring student/school progress during the summer, including communication from principal during summer break.
   • A recognition/celebration event when school resumes in the fall.
3. Track school’s student participation in Summer Library Programs.
4. Design and administer an evaluation of the library’s summer reading program.
5. Submit participation statistics in Summer Reading Report, due September 15.

 (Please see “Program Components” in Toolkit for more details.)

Application Process:

1. Read detailed program components in Toolkit
2. Meet with principal(s) and school librarian(s) at up to five elementary schools to design Reading Challenge.
3. Apply online by March 21, 2018.

A partnership package, containing the following resources, will be provided for both the library and the school(s) upon acceptance of the application.

• One 24” x 60” vinyl banner promoting summer reading
• Ten hardcover books, fiction and non-fiction titles, to add to the library’s collection
• 50 paperback books to use for Little Libraries or honor collections
• Bonus: If the school achieves its goal for student participation, the school and library each receive five additional hardcover books for their collections in the fall.

*A note about the partnership packages: Books are for the libraries’ collections and are not to be used as student prizes. If you cannot use the vinyl banner please give it to a library, school, business, or organization; you may also choose to return it to ICfL to re-distribute.

Other program resources:

• School Partnerships Toolkit  (for libraries)
• School Partnerships Toolkit (for schools)
• Reading Challenge Worksheet (as Word Doc)  (as PDF)
• Summer Reading Data Tracking Sheet (coming soon)
• Summer Learning Loss Handout (coming soon)
• School Partnerships PowerPoint Presentation (coming soon)
• Ways Libraries and Schools Have Collaborated to Promote Summer Reading
• Summer Learning Loss Video
• Summer Learning Loss Visual Demonstration Script
• 2019 List of Titles (Available in spring)
• Family Outreach Summer Reading Talking Points
• List of Discounted Book Sources
• Summer Reading Resources web page