Bloomington Reads!

Bloomington Reads: What are you Reading Today?

The Foundation of Monroe County Community Schools is hosting a week of reading related activities designed to focus on the importance of everyday literacy.

In the Monroe County Community School Corporation over 30% of all school age children read below grade level. Recent efforts by MCCSC educators are focused on significantly improving this statistic through a number of innovative and collaborative initiatives. These include intensive training efforts, through a Literacy Leadership Cohort, to equip educators in each building with the most effective techniques for improving the reading skills of our students. Next school year, MCCSC will also add specialized literacy personnel in each school building.

Despite a strong commitment from school system personnel to urgently reduce the number of children reading below grade level, successfully tackling this issue cannot be achieved without support from the broader community. Bloomington Reads! will serve to remind parents, grandparents, neighbors and employers that raising readers is a responsibility that we all share.

Activities throughout this weeklong effort will include:

  • The opportunity for readers of all ages and abilities to read side by side at Bring Your Own Book and Read on the courthouse lawn on April 27 from 11:30 to 1:00. Sponsored by the Bloomington Chamber of Commerce.

  • Thoughtful conversation about the changing face of literacy at Digital Media: The End of Literacy as We Know It at the public library on April 27 at 6:30 pm. Sponsored by the Monroe County Public Library and WTIU.

  • A presentation by Mike Mattos, a nationally recognized expert, on Professional Learning Communities, and their impact on outcomes for students of all reading and ability levels on April 28 at Bloomington High School South from 7:00 to 8:30.

  • A challenge to our community to read a book together on stage and on film at the Farmers Market on Saturday, April 30th from 8:00 to 12:00. Readers of all ages and abilities are invited to help Bloomington read James and the Giant Peach aloud in four hours. Each individual will read one page as we engage readers from all walks of life.

  • Distribution of free books for preschoolers and school age children by the Kiwanis Club and the Foundation of Monroe County Community Schools.

  • Activities in MCCSC school building focusing on poetry and literacy.

Community members, adults and children alike, are invited to participate and prove that Bloomington believes that reading is a critical success factor for individuals and for our community.