JESUS THE GOOD SHEPHERD SCHOOL: ACCELERATED READER SPOTLIGHT

Amy Fakhre, Jesus the Good Shepherd Catholic School Development Office

DURING THE FIRST NINE-WEEKS OF SCHOOL, JGS teachers completed the Carmel Hill Education Fund Read Up Challenge-Round 1. Every JGS teacher in grades 1st6th met and exceeded the criteria for the challenge which included all students completing at STAR test and 85% of each class meeting their AR goal with 90% accuracy! The teachers received an award certificate for their classroom and an Amazon gift card for their achievement.

During the first and second nine weeks of school, JGS accumulated a total of eight Million-Word Readers: (1 million words read) Katie Barkley-6th, Rosemary Paxton-5th, Chidu Anumele-6th, Lillian Sanford-4th; (2 million words read) Parker Traxler-6th, Hannah Hill-5th, Peyton Traxler-4th; and (5 million words read) Cyrus Tuft-5th.

These students are awarded a Million-Word Reader yard sign to proudly display in their yard. Their photos are displayed in the upper-grade hallway at JGS School on the Accelerated Reader Wall of Fame. They are recognized in our Ram Reader monthly newsletter and also on our school social media pages. These reading athletes are also granted early-bird shopping at the Accelerated Reader Store held at the end of each nineweek semester.

For over 20 years, Jesus the Good Shepherd School has fostered a love of reading in students through the Renaissance Accelerated Reader Program. JGS students complete Renaissance Star Reading Assessments every nine weeks during the school year, which provide teachers with universal screening, progress monitoring and goal setting criteria for each student on an individual and age-appropriate basis. A reading goal is assigned based on the reading assessment scores for the nine weeks and students are then allowed to read books of their liking within their reading goal parameters. The Accelerated Reader Program guides students to select books on their reading level, read independently and take independent AR quizzes on each book read right from their school assigned laptop. JGS teachers monitor reading progress closely, set individual goals and challenges for their students all the while the AR program tracks their reading progress. We are so proud of our JGS teachers for fostering a love of reading in their classrooms and of our students for continuing to excel as reading athletes!