ACCELERATED READER
 

Top Reader for 2008-2009

Devin Griffee 1473.9 pts.

 

Past Top Readers

2008-09 Devin Griffee 1473.9 pts. (believed to be highest in KS to date)
2007-2008 Devin Griffee 1373.1 pts. 
2006-2007 Ross Bergsten 462.0 pts.
2005-2006 Aaron Boeschling 568.3 pts.
2004-2005 Tanya Rightmire 538.4
2003-04 Tess Heberling 593.6 pts.
2002-03 Kat Chans 920.1 pts.
2001-02 Tess Heberling, 513.3 pts.
2000-01 Dava Whitesell 613.1 pts.
1999-00 Tera Kindle 435.3 pts.
1998-99 Tera Kindle 714.4 pts.
1997-98 Elizabeth Gray 597.8 pts.
1996-97 Shena Wolf  727 pts.
1995-96 Suzie Pralle 520.8
1994-95 Steph Peek 293.6
1993-94 Chris Adkins 189.5
1992-93 Carissa Nester 505.5

Rewards

Every junior-high student, in good standing in all classes, who accumulates 200 pts. for the entire year by May 24, 2010 will receive a $50.00 savings bond.

All seventh and eighth grade students who accumulate 125 pts. by May 1 will be a guest at a pizza party during seminar in the last weeks of school.  You may collect on both the bond and the pizza party.

Rewards

Every high school student, in good standing in all classes, who accumulates 300 pts. in the entire year by May 24, 2010 will receive a $50.00 savings bond.

All high school students who accumulate 175 pts. by May 1 will be a guest at a pizza party during seminar before school is out.  You may collect on both the bond and the pizza party.

Commentary on Success of Program

Since the 1993-94 school year, The Accelerated Reader program has been used to fuel our independent reading program at Valley Heights Jr-Sr High School, Blue Rapids, Ks.  It makes up one-third of our reading program combining with a whole language approach from the English classrooms and technical reading from all classes.  

During the 1993-94 school year we made the earning of at least 10 points per nine-weeks as mandatory for all students.*  It became an integral part of our School Improvement Plan.  Since that time we have seen a revolution in reading at Valley Heights with test scores on reading comprehension in our ACT scores skyrocketing.   Scores from students who took core subjects went from an average of  23.3 in 1993-94 to 25.9 in 1996-97.  Scores from students who were not taking core subjects went from 18.3 in 1993-94 to 22.3 in 1996-97.   Needless to say, we are elated with the success of the program.

This improvement has validated our involvement in the program.    We upgraded in the spring of 2007 to Renaissance Place and now have access to all Accelerated Reader tests. We follow basic guidelines learned in Reading Renaissance with the exception that teenagers tend to be harder to motivate with incentives than younger students.  

Guidelines for reading were changed in January 2009.  See student handbook for details. 

Our program was highlighted in the November/December, 1997, issue of Advantage: the Journal of Learning Information Systems, in an article entitled "Reading Practice Raises ACT Scores."

 Points were changed on all books in the Jr/Sr high to the new ATOS readability formula  in the 2000-2001 school year.