Help new teachers to RCS in the 2022-23 school year build a classroom library! We are looking for donations of gently-used books for all levels—pre K through high school—that we can provide to new teachers. We are looking for old titles, new titles (in last 5 years), popular titles, fiction, non-fiction, (some) reference books, series books, etc. And the more the merrier! A typical recommendation for how many books a teacher should have in a classroom library is around 20 per pre K or elementary student, if space provides. Middle school and secondary teachers typically have around 100-200 books in their classroom libraries.

Classroom libraries are recognized by the National Council of Teachers of English as a best practice for literacy instruction, and Michigan’s Essential Practices for Disciplinary Literacy Instruction also ask “teachers to provide access and regular opportunities to read with a wide range of texts…of varying complexity, structure, and genre.” Research has shown that students having access to a large variety of books, being allowed to choose their own books, reading more and reading more often, and reading independently correlate to increased vocabulary and comprehension skills and contribute to reading confidence and enjoyment, especially for reluctant readers. School libraries are great, but students do not have access to them everyday as part of their ELA instruction. That’s why classroom libraries—right there in the room where kids are learning reading and comprehension skills—are so important!

We will be announcing some local drop-off events around Rochester before school starts in the fall. If you are not local and would like to contribute, contact us at freetoreadrochester@gmail.com and we will organize a pick-up.