Learning Does Not Stop in May...

This year Jones Elementary students will continue learning ALL summer long.  Announcements were made, notes were sent home, and parent meetings were held to make all families aware of summer reading activities at school and even in the community. The most important thing for students to do over the summer is READ! Throughout the school year the students were given 25 books through The Home Library Project. To continue this reading momentum, students received reading logs to document their reading progress over the summer.

Jones Elementary is a school site for the district summer lunch program.  All students under 18 can eat lunch for free Monday-Friday at the school throughout the summer.  Having students in the building for lunch was an opportunity we could not pass up to encourage summer learning. A book swap is held each Wednesday before they begin serving summer lunch.  During this time, students bring back any book they have finished and swap it for a new book.

An additional way to encourage summer reading is a book fair. In a few weeks, students will bring their reading log to school and be given "reading bucks" based on how many books/days/minutes they have read over the summer.  Students will be able to purchase new books with the "reading bucks" they have earned.

Another exciting incentive to read will take place in August.  The local fire department will be coming to do a fire hose spray event.  Students will use their reading log as a ticket to enter the event. Students will be able to run through water and enjoy popsicles together.

Families were also informed about how to sign up for programs at the Springdale Public Library over the summer. Registration forms were distributed for the students and sent over to the library once completed.

Exciting times are in store for Jones' readers of all ages. Doesn't this excitement make you want to begin reading???

The Home Library Effect | How a simple idea is transforming the lives of at-risk readers

The Home Library Effect

How a simple idea is transforming the lives of at-risk readers. 

June 8, 2015

By Justin Minkel (AR ’06)

Think back to your first memory of reading. Did the memory involve someone you love—your mom or dad, grandma or grandpa—perhaps a big brother or sister?

Children living in poverty don’t always get that early experience of reading with someone they love. For these children to someday live the lives they dream of, we have to close the book gap in their homes. 

When I started the home library project five years ago with my second-grade class, it transformed the worlds of 25 children. In 2015, the initiative will impact 2,500 at-risk readers.

The idea for the project was simple.

Problem: Many children who live in poverty have few books at home.

Solution: Provide those children with their own books to keep.  

How to make it happen: Make sure each child has a place in his or her home for a growing library—it can be a bookshelf, a plastic tub, or even a shoebox decorated with stickers. Over the course of the year, help the students choose 10 or 15 books at their reading level. Then, watch as their world changes.

When I began the project, I was amazed at the impact on reading development, family literacy and love of books.

One of my second-grade students was reading at a kindergarten level, and no one in her home was literate. She made two full years’ reading growth that year. When I asked how she had done it she said, “Well, you know those books you gave me? Now when my mom and little sister and I are watching TV at night, they say, ‘Melinda, read to us.’ So I do.”

The project has grown gradually during the past five years, but its roots go deep. What started with one classroom became a third-grade project with three other teachers and later expanded to 13 teachers at our school— Harvey Jones Elementary School in Springdale, Arkansas.

This year, thanks to a $100,000 grant from the Farmers Insurance Dream Big Challenge, every teacher at our school became part of the home library project. We also held two family literacy nights for children and their parents to choose books from a Scholastic book fair, including many titles in Spanish.

A mom came with her daughter, and she thanked us for the project. “I know how important it is to get books for her,” she said, “but after rent and groceries, we just don’t have anything left.”

We have expanded the project’s reach to two nearby elementary schools with high levels of poverty. We have also partnered with a community group called Bright Futures—a non-profit dedicated to the success of all children—and the University of Arkansas Center for Community Engagement, which have brought the project to two additional schools in the district and several rural schools in the region. 

Educators from all over the country have reached out for ideas on starting their own home library projects, ranging from a kindergarten teacher in Oakland to a child development professor in Texas. The Center for Teaching Quality, a national education non-profit, is working with us to develop a digital platform that will feature contacts, resources and a starter kit for anyone who wants to start a home library project in their own classroom, school, or district.

We live in a time when amazing things are happening in classrooms all over America, led by truly talented teachers. In too many cases, their innovations never reach beyond their own classroom walls. The home library project is a powerful example of teacher leadership taken to scale: a simple idea with profound impact on students.

Home libraries have the potential to shape our national approach to literacy for at-risk readers. There are times when effective classroom instruction is not enough to move a struggling reader from frustration to confidence. In these cases, providing a child with great books can be a potent intervention with greater impact—and a lot more joy—than summer school or conventional remediation.

By the end of 2015, this effort will have put 50,000 books into the hands and homes of children who need them. These children will become more confident readers, inquisitive thinkers and compassionate human beings as a result.

Justin Minkel is a 2006 winner of the Milken Educator Award and 2013 Lowell Milken Center Fellow. He teaches second-grade at Harvey Jones Elementary School in Springdale, Arkansas. 

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Filling the Gaps | CTQ Posted by Justin Minkel

Filling the Gaps

Posted by Justin Minkel on Tuesday, 03/17/2015

This week Scholastic delivered 10,500 books to our school for the first book fair of its kind. Two things make this book fair different from most:

• The kids don’t have to pay for the books.
• The book fair is tied into six family literacy nights planned by every grade level, kindergarten through fifth grade.

Every child in every class gets to choose five books to add to their home libraries, and the children who come with their parents to a family literacy night get four additional books to take home and keep. 98% of our students live in poverty, so providing the books free of charge makes a huge difference in the number of books going into children’s hands and homes.

Today at our book fair, I saw Jasper—a little guy from the Marshall Islands who wears comically big glasses—moping around as the other students chose their books. I asked him why he wasn’t picking out any books and he said in a forlorn voice, “I don’t have a dollar.”

When I explained that this book fair is different, he doesn’t need money to pick out books, he grinned and set out to make his selections.

Angela held up a book and told me, “I picked this one for my brother.”

On our way back to class, Sala said, “When I get home, I’m going to teach my little brother to read.”

Read more at  Filling the Gaps | CTQ

Farmers Insurance Names Winners Of The Thank A Million Teachers Dream Big Teacher Challenge,

Farmers Insurance Names Winners Of The Thank A Million Teachers Dream Big Teacher Challenge, Awarding Five Educators With $100,000 Grants Each
Winning Teachers to be featured on Insurer's Rose Parade® Float on January 1, 2015

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Farmers Insurance announced today the five winners of the Thank A Million Teachers Dream Big Teacher Challenge, rewarding each of these educators with $100,000 grants and providing them the means to transform their schools and communities. Each of the five winners went through a rigorous proposal submission and review process and competed for votes from the American public to be crowned winners of the Dream Big Teacher Challenge. The winners will celebrate at the 126th Rose Parade presented by Honda as they ride atop the insurer's "Dream Big: World of Possibility" float alongside actor Jack Black and his longtime mentor and former teacher, Debbie Devine of 24th Street Theatre.

Each of the five winners will use the $100,000 to transform their communities and help show their students that the limits are endless promoting a world of possibility and opportunity outside the classroom. The winning teachers are:

(Blackfoot, ID) Melissa Hunt, IT Stoddard Elementary: Melissa Hunt's proposal, "Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow" will enhance the learning environment through the implementation of a variety of programs including Discovery Education, PD 360, Schoolnet and other online resources. Hunt along with the other IT Stoddard Elementary teachers will create formative and summative assessments through IFAP, and will deliver those through Schoolnet. All of these programs will support one another in the application phase for student "flipped learning." IT Stoddard Elementary will then serve as a model school of how to integrate all of these programs together.

(Bridgewater, VA) Cindy Ferek, Turner Ashby High School: Cindy Ferek's proposal, "Two Wheels Squared Driving Course Challenge" is a multi-faceted program that will challenge high school students physically, emotionally, and cognitively. The grant money will be used to build a physical course that trains future drivers for the challenges and problem solving situations they will face once they get a license and drive on the roadways in our communities. As vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers, this course will prepare them for the dangers of the road.

(Chicago, IL) Maggie Kendall, Chicago School for Agricultural Sciences: Chicago High School for Agriculture Sciences is home to Chicago's only working farm and hosts an equestrian program for regular and special needs kids and adults. Currently, students can only ride outside and with Chicago winter weather, this limits the time when students can enjoy the equestrian program. Kendall's proposal entitled "Raise the Barn Roof" will fund an indoor arena, allowing the school to extend the program year-round and also offer more opportunities to special needs children and adults throughout the area.

(Henderson, NV) Brenda Moynihan, C.T. Sewell Elementary: Moynihan's proposal, "C.T. Sewell Student and Family Technology Center" features a plan to incorporate technology into the classroom and learning center so the C.T. Sewell students, who rarely have access to computers or tablets at home, can more readily meet today's academic expectations. Moynihan will also use the grant money to create and provide career guidance programs for parents to help promote healthy home environments for the students of C.T. Sewell.

(Springdale, AR) Justin Minkel & Amber Stout, Jones Elementary: Justin Minkel and Amber Stout's proposal, "The Home Library Effect" will transform 1,000 of the world's at-risk readers by creating a statewide literacy initiative that has not only been recognized by Sec. Ducan but President Obama as well. The program initially started on a smaller scale with a 1,000 Books Project for their 2nd graders in 2010, but now they will take the project to a larger scale of 25,000 books for 1,000 children. The program will allow children to create a space in their homes for a library and choose books to fill it.
The Thank A Million Teachers program was launched earlier this year, inviting individuals across America to offer heartfelt thanks to teachers, present and past, for their positive impact on students and local communities. Teachers were then invited to participate in the Dream Big Teacher Challenge, in which they submitted detailed proposals for the chance to be considered as one of the five outstanding teachers nationwide.

"Over the past few months, we received hundreds of proposals from teachers across the country with incredible stories, visions and dreams to take their classroom to the next level and help inspire students," said Erin Freeman, Chief Communications Officer for Farmers Insurance. "Today, we are thrilled to make these dreams a reality for five deserving educators. Their stories inspired us and we know that this funding will transform education and promote endless opportunities for current and future students."

On January 1, 2015, actor Jack Black and his longtime mentor and former teacher, Debbie Devine of 24th Street Theatre will join the five Thank a Million Teachers Dream Big Teacher Challenge Winners to say thanks to teachers across the country as they ride the Farmers "Dream Big: World of Possibility" float in the 126th Rose Parade.

Check local listings and tune in on January 1 to see Farmers honor teachers in a big way. Visit www.thankamillionteachers.com to learn more about the program.

About Farmers Insurance

Farmers Insurance Group of Companies is a leading U.S. insurer group of automobiles, homes and small businesses and also provides a wide range of other insurance and financial services products. Farmers Insurance is proud to serve more than 10 million households with more than 20 million individual policies across all 50 states through the efforts of over 50,000 exclusive and independent agents and approximately 22,000 employees.

For more information about Farmers, visit its Web site at www.farmers.com or at www.Facebook.com/FarmersInsurance.

About the Pasadena Tournament of Roses®

The Pasadena Tournament of Roses is a volunteer organization that annually hosts the Rose Parade, the Rose Bowl Game® and a variety of associated events. The Tournament's 935 volunteer members act as ambassadors of the organization within the community and serve on one of 31 committees that ensure the success of the parade and game. Collectively, they contribute upwards of 80,000 hours of manpower each year. The 126th Rose Parade presented by Honda and themed "Inspiring Stories," will take place Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015, followed by the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual. For additional information on the Tournament of Roses please visit the official website at www.tournamentofroses.com.

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SOURCE Farmers Insurance

Thank a Million Teacher: Jones Elementary wins $100K

Jones Elementary teachers Justin Minkel and Amber Stout have won the $100,000 grant from Farmer's Insurance! Thank you to all who voted for the Jones teachers in the Thank A Million Teachers Dream Big Challenge. Jones is one of five schools (out of 15 candidates) in the entire country to win. The money will be used to purchase books for every student at Jones plus students at Lee and Harp Elementary.
Read the interview after the big surprise.