Local Students Participate in Texas Reads One Book

At 9:00 a.m. on April 27, 2015, tens of thousands of students and their families across Texas, including students locally in Burton Independent School District, will begin a statewide celebration of literacy by reading the same book at the same time, led by Jason Garrett, head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Garrett will do a videotaped reading of the first chapter of The World According to Humphrey by Betty Birney to kick off the Texas Reads One Book! program.

Through the Texas Reads One Book program, school faculty, staff, students, and students’ families in dozens of elementary schools across the state will read the same book at the same time. Texas Reads One Book! is a statewide version of the One District, One Book (ODOB) and One School, One Book programs, which have been used in dozens of districts and hundreds of schools across the United States and Canada. ODOB is the flagship program of Read to Them, a nonprofit family literacy organization.

The program actively engages families in the reading process, and it also creates a culture of reading at both the school and district level. Families read a chapter from the book each night over a period of about a month. Daily trivia questions, discussions, and other activities in the schools ensure that reading takes center stage in the home, school, and community throughout the duration of the program.

Dozens of schools across the state are participating in Texas Reads One Book. Partnering with Read to Them in the program are the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) and AASA, The School Superintendents Association. Based in Alexandria, Va., AASA is the nation’s premier organization for more than 13,000 educational leaders in the U.S. and throughout the world.   

“When a whole district reads a book, there’s a whole lot to talk about!” concludes Gary Anderson, program director and founder of Read to Them. “We believe that by involving parents, schools, and the community, the Texas Reads One Book program will help participating districts create a culture of reading that extends far beyond the actual time of the program.”

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To learn more about the Texas Reads One Book program, contact Bonny Urschel, Read to Them Texas Coordinator, at texasreads@readtothem.org. For local information or quotes, contact your local district.