With these funds I will...

At Grizzlies Prep, reading and writing is a huge part of our culture, as well as making sure our young men understand taking responsibility for their actions and maintaining integrity in their everyday lives. Being able to read and write well is a huge factor in working to make sure our young men are ready for high school, college, and life. So many of our young men came into our learning environment not being able to read. To aide in literacy, we push reading daily by setting aside 45-60 minutes of independent reading, choice reading. Many of our scholars have internalized a love for reading, and read even when not required. This is not the case for all of our young men. 

For the past two years, we have set a school wide goal, that all scholars will read 1 million words. It is now November, and 4 scholars have already exceeded this goal. Something that we have seen is that scholars who do not meet the goal or read a quarter of a million words struggle with reading independently and/or enjoying reading. We think it would be a great and effective idea to start a book club, where students meet twice a week during their designated reading time to read together and discuss. Scholars will be a part of the book selection process, in order to determine what genre of books, students like reading. Once a month, scholars will complete a project together that spotlights the book they read together. The spotlight book will be put on display in the school, in order to encourage other students to read. 

I think that a book club, student led, would be a great way to invest our scholars in reading alone and with others. By allowing scholars to create their own projects, through the spotlight, scholars will be able to be leaders in the school in an area in which we cherish at Grizzlies Prep, literacy.

This book club is not just about making sure our scholars meet the goals that have been set for them, but to encourage a love for reading and improvement. We have seen that scholars who read often increase their reading and comprehension levels, as well as participate more in classroom discussions. 

The money for this project will go towards purchasing books for the book club, as well as materials for the spotlights (poster boards, markers, glue, paper, color pencils, etc.). Potential authors are Sharon Draper and Peggy Kern. Funds left over will be kept for the continuation of book club next year. 

Back Up Plan