Five Jefferson County Public Schools are claiming top dog status after winning their respective categories in Jefferson County Public Library’s (JCPL) Summer Reading School Contest.
The winning schools are:
- Preschool: Warder Preschool
- Elementary: Pleasant View Elementary
- Middle: Oberon Middle School
- High: Jefferson High
- Charter/Option: Addenbrooke Classical Academy
In an effort to engage public school students and motivate them to track and log their summer reading time, JCPL added a public school contest component to this year’s program. Winning schools will receive their $300 Visa cards and a trophy at a school assembly in September and the prizes must be used to supplement any literacy-based project or program at the school.
Eligible readers, preschool through grade 12 students, were able to have their minutes count towards their school’s efforts at winning. 50% of all the registered participants (17,448) were preschool through grade 12 Jeffco Public School students who affiliated with a school. More than 9,500 (55%) finished the program by reading and logging a minimum of 8 hours. In total, these students read 14,442,452 minutes representing 52.3% of minutes read county-wide.
Oberon Middle School’s principal, Tara Pena, was excited to learn Oberon won the Middle School Category and said, “Each summer we strongly encourage our students to read, and read often! We appreciate the support we receive from the Jeffco Public Library to reward students for their time and effort reading during their summer break! The extra time spent reading over the summer makes for a smoother transition once school starts, especially for our new incoming 7th graders. Thanks Jeffco Public Library!”
Warder Preschool Director Brenda Huynh said, “I am so proud of our families, starting children at such a young age with a passion for reading!”
Jefferson High’s principal, Michael James, said he is proud of his students who committed so many hours of their summer vacation to read. “Choice reading gives our students a chance to truly increase their comprehension while staying engaged in literacy. Go Saints!” he said.
Pleasant View Elementary won the Elementary School Category and their principal, Janace Fischer, said, “I am so proud of the time our students dedicated to reading this summer! It’s an honor to receive this reward and I can’t wait to share our excitement with our students.”
The Jefferson County Public Library’s Board of Trustees generously donated five, $300 prizes to be awarded to the top school in each category that had the most finishers (people who read a minimum of eight hours) compared to school enrollment. All the school standings are available on jeffcolibrary.org.
In all, Jefferson County residents set a new summer reading record by logging 27,564728 minutes between June 1 and July 31.
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About Jefferson County Public Library
Jefferson County Public Library (JCPL) is the third largest public library in the state of Colorado and the essential destination where all generations connect, discover and create. Our mission is to build an educated and vibrant community by providing equal access to information and opportunities. A JCPL library card is the smartest card in your wallet, giving you access to an online library that operates 24 hours per day, seven days per week, a network of 10 libraries, a Bookmobile, a robust Library 2 You program and a Mobile Computer Classroom, as well as books, periodicals, CDs and DVDs, audio and eBooks, and computer and Internet resources. Library programs and services are supported by countywide property taxes and supplemented by charitable donations from The Jefferson County Library Foundation and others. For more information contact your local library or visit jeffcolibrary.org.
About Jefferson County Library Foundation
The Jefferson County Library Foundation and Friends work to support and enrich the capabilities, resources and services of Jefferson County Public Library through fundraising and advocacy efforts that benefit the community. The Friends of Jefferson County Public Library is a county-wide organization dedicated to enhancing the programs and resources of our libraries. For more information, visit jeffcolibraryfoundation.org.