Simon Middle School eighth grader Jeremy Buck and Wolverines librarian Staci Perkins display the personalized graphic of the student’s bloody-fanged countenance during the fun-filled “Read it Forward Hays CISD” grant’s year-ending party. (Photo by Jim Cullen)
by JIM CULLEN
When last reported on, Hays CISD middle school librarians Deanne Aldridge, Betty Copeland, Suzanne Krejci, Dianne Mueller and Staci Perkins were in the early stages of implementing an innovative teaching grant they received from the Hays CISD Education Foundation. “Read it Forward Hays CISD” was the name of the just-funded project and the five ambitious librarians were gearing up for what they hoped would be a spring onslaught of reading enthusiasm.
Most grant recipients enjoy that early euphoric period of excitement when all participants are geared up for putting something together that’s new and different. The trick is in carrying that excitement through the life of the grant to its conclusion.
Such was the case for local librarians Aldridge, Copeland, Krejci, Mueller and Perkins. Enthusiasm proved to be the obvious keynote at the school year-ending gathering held at the Performing Arts Center.
What generated and maintained the excitement over the grant’s duration? No doubt the contagious air of fun and sharing coming from those librarians, as well as their pick of an undeniably popular book.
Author Brian Meehl’s 2008 Lone Star Reading List favorite, “Suck it Up,” turned out to be a clear crowd favorite. Money from the grant was used to purchase 100 copies of the popular book for each of the district’s five middle schools. The vampire-oriented pick was described by one reviewer as being “filled with humor, quirky characters, light romance, mild suspense and a lot of fun.”
A “lot of fun” is what transpired along the way, with the seed copies of the book barely catching any shelf time at their respective campuses as students practiced the “Read it Forward” theme and passed the books on to others to enjoy. Meanwhile, blogs broke out that documented students’ thoughts on the read, one of those stating, “I give it two fangs up! Awesome book! Anyone would be glad to find the book. You should really try it and read it forward! You get sucked in the book like a vampire’s fangs to blood!”
Being sucked into the action proved much of the fun as the project came to its conclusion with a packed house gathering of middle school readers howling their approval of party treats, vampire-themed, pun-filled puzzles and prizes from a wide range community sponsors. To the grant’s stated intent to “bring diverse students together for a common goal, spreading messages of one book and a love of reading among our community,” count one teaching grant as happily successful.
