|  | It's 'The Outsiders' and 'The Great Gatsby' for Saint Paul Reads
11/29/2004 4:55 PMImagine motivating students to read 7.8 million books.
This has been the result of Saint Paul Reads, a project launched by Saint Paul Public Schools Superintendent Patricia Harvey in 1999. In 2001, the City of Saint Paul partnered with the school district to create a citywide book club that has become a Saint Paul tradition.
Today, Superintendent Patricia Harvey and Saint Paul Mayor Randy Kelly announced changes to the Saint Paul Reads program and announced two books: one for the Saint Paul Reads Citywide Book Club and one for the Saint Paul Reads Citywide Book Club for Kids. Gina La Force, director of Saint Paul Public Library, hosted the event in the F. Scott Fitzgerald Alcove of downtowns Central Library.
Themes of both books for 2004-2005: "Hopes and Dreams; Insiders and Outsiders." This year, Saint Paul Reads Citywide Book Club for Kids encourages young readers to discuss the themes as they are presented in "The Outsiders," by S.E. Hinton. Saint Paul Reads Citywide Book Club encourages adults and secondary school students to discuss these themes as they play out in the great American classic, "The Great Gatsby."
A central goal of Saint Paul Reads is to help students improve their reading skills. Research shows that reading improves students' comprehension, grammar and vocabulary skills. This in turn improves students' capacity to learn in all areas. Based on this research, and on the recommendation of the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English, Harvey annually challenges all Saint Paul students, staff and citizens to read at least 25 books.
In reflecting on the success of Saint Paul Reads, Harvey said,"Whether you look to Saint Paul Reads 25, or the citywide book club for our school district and our students, the results of this initiative have been important. In terms of academic achievement, since Saint Paul Reads was initiated, our test scores for the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments in reading have increased 21 percent for grade 3 and 19 percent for grade 5. Stanford Achievement Test scores for reading have risen too; today 75 percent of our students are proficient. I am also proud of the sense of community we have been able to create through the citywide book club experience."
"The Citywide Book Club is an exciting program that brings our community together to promote the importance of reading," said Mayor Kelly. "Im excited to be a part of this important and fun program once again. What better gift to give this holiday season than one which encourages reading and sharing thoughts and ideas across generations?"
From the Mayor's office to the public library system to local bookstores, Saint Paul Reads has had strong partners which have made it a success.
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