Scholastic Inc., the publishing company behind the popular books Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and other great titles, will give recognition to educators (teachers, librarians, principals and schools) for their outstanding literacy work at the Scholastic Readers Cup 2014 on August 19 at 11 AM, Rockwell Tent Makati.

The Readers Cup is an interschool literacy contest poised to become one of the premiere literacy awards in the country. The winners of the Readers Cup will be chosen from over 100 schools participating in Scholastic’s literacy programs — Assessment and Enrichment Program (AEP) and Independent Reading Program (IRP). AEP and IRP are a premiere end-to-end literacy solution programs that schools subscribe to, producing remarkable and measurable improvements in students’ reading abilities.

The Readers Cup is a perfect opportunity for Scholastic to pay homage to the noble educators who have been helping shape the future of students by improving their reading skills through AEP. It’s a tribute to the tireless teachers, librarians and principals whose work and leadership paved way for students to become better readers and learners.

Father Miguel Samaniego, School Head of St. Thomas Academy in Sto. Tomas, Batangas, commented on AEP’s impact in their school:

We have seen significant changes in our kids. Since they have been reading more books, they have a wider vocabulary and better comprehension skills. Their communication skills have improved too. They now appreciate that reading is enjoyable.

Father Noel B. Magtaas, President of the Oblates of St. Joseph Schools, a consortium of nine schools, also shares his experience with AEP:

When I was visiting schools before Scholastic came in, I would often visit the libraries, and I would see empty libraries. But when we enrolled with Scholastic, the love for reading became very evident among our students. Right now we have a very happy problem. We have overflowing libraries, and there is an emergent need to create more space in our libraries. We’re very happy to see a change in the lifestyle of our students.

The Scholastic Readers Cup 2014 will award the top three schools in varying categories including “Highest Increase in Total Number of Books Read per school”, “Highest Average number of Books Read per Child”, “Highest Average Lexile* Growth per student” and the “Highest Average Number of Books Read per Student”.

With prestige and honor on the line for over 100 schools nationwide, the Scholastic Readers Cup is set to raise the bar for literacy in the Philippines. No matter what schools end up winning the Readers Cup however, it is clear that the real reward lies in being able to influence each student to become a better reader giving way to a better life.

As a reading advocate, I would also like to extend my appreciation to all educators, especially to parents who encourage their children to read. To know more about my personal reading advocacy, you may check out Raising Readers: Helping my Children Develop a Love for Reading.

*The Lexile growth refers to Lexile scores; reading scores used by Scholastic to gauge reading levels.

Scholastic Inc.
www.scholastic.com
facebook.com/Scholastic

Published: 2014-08-11 15:25:17