Perry Meridian 6th Grade Academy
And They Kept Coming Back!
Thanks to an Education Foundation grant in the previous year, we were able to establish a “Guys Read” program encouraging boys to read. Data showed our boys were significantly behind our girls in passing Language Arts ISTEP. A successful “Guys Read” year ended, a new group of students started the school year, and the alumni kept coming back! Even though the boys attend a different school, they still arrive early to school once a week to attend the “Guys Read” meeting. This is exciting momentum in reading that I hope to build upon. An unexpected outcome came from the original “Guys Reads” members. In addition to attending school early once a week and reading several novels, they formed a bond with each other. The students encouraged each other while reading, and it carried over outside of the classroom. Now that these students are in a different school building and still return once a week to read, a whole new opportunity has arisen. They can be the positive role models that my current students need. Those readers that once needed a mentor have become one themselves.