Read 4 a Ride

In November of 2021 we had a speaker come to our lunch meeting. Bill Schroder from the Perfect 10 Charities, explained the program he was trying to get groups to take up. It is designed to get children excited about reading and encourage them to be readers for life. George Coggan, a retired teacher, and longtime member of our Club was already helping out at Denham Oaks elementary school by reading to students regularly and asking us to buy books the teachers needed. Our club committed to doing this program in 2022-23 school year and again during 2023-24.

The Program

Our goal is to inspire every child to enhance their reading skills. Alarmingly, 70% of Florida's prison population cannot read beyond a fifth-grade level. This is not just another youth program; it is a critical humanitarian initiative. The program targets third-grade students, as this is the pivotal year when they transition from learning to read to reading to learn. If a child falls behind in reading by the end of third grade, their ability to learn in the future is severely compromised. Catching up becomes increasingly difficult, and many will never achieve reading proficiency beyond a fifth-grade level by the time they reach high school graduation. This is the problem we aim to address.

We started our program by adopting a single school that we knew needed help. We began by contacting the person responsible for the third-grade reading program and educating them on our plan. It was crucial for the teachers and staff to buy into the program, and fortunately, they did at Denham Oaks in Lutz/Land O’ Lakes.

Everyone, whether child or adult, wants to feel special, and rewarding good behavior always leads to more good behavior. There is also a motivational aspect to seeing others being rewarded. While the rewards don’t have to be extravagant, they need to be something that excites the majority. With this in mind, we hold four third-grade assemblies, one each month for four months.

At the first assembly, we explain the plan to the children and set their goals for the next assembly. In the next two assemblies, we hand out prizes—items mostly under $10, such as balls, hula-hoops, board games, magic eight balls, and other things the kids enjoy. The grand prize is particularly special: we give away 10 bicycles. By the second and third assemblies, the children are excited and cheering for each other as their friends win. By the final assembly, the excitement is off the charts.

The total cost of this program is under $1,500, but the return on investment is immeasurable. We have statistics to back up the program’s success, which you can see in the charts provided below.

The Results

Statewide reading tests are mandatory in Florida schools at the start of third grade and again at the end of the year. These tests categorize students into five levels of reading proficiency. Students who reach the third level or higher are considered proficient in reading. The results for both the previous and current years are quite similar, so I will focus on the 2023-24 results.

Almost everyone showed gains in their scores, and 77% moved up at least one level. A total of 111 students were tested. Of these, 23% remained at the same level from PM 1 to PM 3, although 90% of this group still showed gains in their scale scores. Additionally, 46% of the 111 students achieved a one-level gain, while 31% gained two reading levels.

This is an incredible testimony to the dedication and skills of their teachers first but we believe also in the program its self. We can say unashamedly that the children's excitement resulted in real gains.

The Long Term

Pasco County recently began using BeanStack, an app similar to GoodReads, where students can “friend” each other, share book reviews, and track how many minutes they read. The Lion’s Club has been working exclusively with third graders for the past two years.

To assess the program's impact, we compared the reading habits of fourth graders, who participated in the program last year, with fifth graders, who did not. The results are striking: fourth graders read four times as many books as the fifth graders. This significant difference highlights the positive influence of the program on students' reading engagement.