2007 Printable Manual - Texas State Library and Archives ...

Sail Away With Books!
home and leave a poster at the school with the dates of your program. The school librarian may
be very happy to display the poster in the library.
Ask teachers, especially kindergarten through second grade teachers, to discuss the importance
of summer reading with parents at the final parent-teacher conference. Teachers have a great deal
of influence with parents and their recommendation will often encourage parents to follow
through with summer reading. Keep in mind that the last parent-teacher meeting is usually held
in March, so start early. Even if you only know the start and end dates for your Summer Reading
Program, provide a “teaser” flyer that lets parents know how to get more information. If possible,
upload a copy of your summer reading program flyer on your library’s web site, making it easy
for teachers to download, print, and distribute. It is easy to create a pdf file or Word document
for the web.
Ask if the school will be conducting summer classes or providing summer childcare. Teachers
and activity leaders are often eager to cooperate on entertaining projects that support learning.
School librarians may wish to become outreach sites for your reading club. Children attending
summer school or participating in school camps or childcare become a "captive" audience for
your programs.
Remember to contact private schools. Many require their students to read during the summer and
the Texas Reading Club can help make that requirement more enjoyable and fulfilling. Childcare
centers and preschools are also often looking for opportunities to collaborate with the library.
Children can participate in the Texas Reading Club by recording titles of books that are read to
them or that they read at the childcare center. Schedule group visits to the library or bring library
programs to the centers. Provide outreach collections, or encourage childcare providers to apply
for teacher’s cards.
Note that you should be extra careful to check the school calendar for the 2007-2008 school year.
The Texas Legislature passed House Bill 1 during the 2006 special session. In addition to many
other things, this legislation requires that the first day of the school calendar not be set prior to
the fourth Monday in August. Later start dates for the 2007-2008 school year might impact your
Texas Reading Club plans and will certainly mean that children are still in the library during the
day until later in August. Most schools will begin classes ten to fourteen days later than in the
past.
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