'One Book' Program Sparks Districtwide Reading

School Solutions

When Mike Poore left the superintendency in Bentonville, Ark., for the top spot in Little Rock, Ark., in June, he considered ways to kindle interest in reading in his new community. In Bentonville, he had benefitted from and supported the One District, One Book program as an effective method of getting schools, families, and the entire community united around reading. His goal is to launch the program in Little Rock.

The premise of One District, One Book is simple: All elementary families across a school district read the same children’s book at the same time, making reading a hot topic of discussion throughout the community. Each night, students read a chapter with their parents, caregivers or siblings, and then at school, children are involved in activities ranging from a discussion with the author to art projects about the book.

One District, One Book is administered by the nonprofit organization Read to Them that I founded, and the program operates in dozens of districts across the United States. Read to Them provides skits, trivia questions and other support materials for more than 40 children’s books. Titles include award winners such as Charlotte’s Web and The Tale of Despereaux, as well as family favorites such as The World According to Humphrey and The Lemonade War. Spanish-language editions are available for some books.

Titles for the program that are selected will engage and absorb a 1st grader yet still interest and surprise a 5th grader. Because all elementary families in a school district receive a copy of the book, everyone gets to participate — including families that might not have the money to buy new books.

Bentonville Benefits

Student and family engagement often grow as community partners become more involved. In Bentonville, Crystal Bridges Museum of Art holds a culminating event each year that is “beyond wonderful,” Poore says. This year kids developed their own zoos through tinkering after reading the book The One and Only Ivan, a story about a gorilla.

“This program has created excitement not only among students, but also with parents and in the wider community,” Poore says. “It’s an expectation now — people look forward to this each year.”

Individual schools in Bentonville cover the program cost out of their budgets. Some schools and districts use Title I money to support the program; others obtained grant funding.

Branching Out

Poore believes that adopting the One District One Book program could be a key element in building a culture of reading throughout the Little Rock community and even statewide.

A first step would be to pilot the program in eight to 10 school districts representing communities of varying sizes in different parts of the state. This would impact an estimated 30,000 students. The results from those pilots could provide the impetus to take the program statewide.

Economics Arkansas is working with Poore on implementing the pilot program. It has worked for more than 50 years to train Arkansas teachers to integrate principles of economics and personal finance into the classroom curriculum.

To create the link between children’s literature and financial literacy, students in participating pilot districts will read The Lemonade War. The book engages both students and parents and teaches important economics lessons.

“We can share other information to enhance the financial literacy of children,” Poore says. “The earlier we start teaching children about financial literacy, the better off we are.”

Long-Lasting Effects

To spur conversation about reading, superintendents have kept a copy of the most recent book on their desk.

This past spring a student walked by Poore’s office and noticed it. That led to a conversation about the book and the experience of reading it. The incident showed that the effects of the ODOB program endure long after the reading has concluded.

“Any time you are talking about books, there’s a lot of positive energy that brings out more benefits than you can possibly imagine,” he says. “The most important aspect is that families get united in a reading effort. Dads, moms, everyone is reading.”