The Alex Project: A Dream Becomes Reality
Do you believe in the power of one great read? Do you dream of a community that is connecting using books? Have a teen reader that needs to be inspired? Have a teen reader that needs to be showcased? If any of this sounds like you join us as we examine "The Alex Project" and how you can make it happen in your school and community. This workshop is designed for those wanting more information on this successful program that links teen readers with community readers.
“As a classroom English teacher I assigned many challenging texts. As I grew older and hopefully wiser I realize many students did not share my love of these great reads...so I offered the challenge, I make you read one of my favorites; I’ll read one of yours. For the most part I could easily read what the students gave me. However, all this changed with a young man named Alex.
Alex lived with his single parent mom and sister. A gentle giant, Alex refused to play football (much to the coach’s anguish.) Alex simply sequestered himself in his bedroom and read. Military history was his absolute favorite. Report cards showed he simply did not apply himself….bright, capable - just lacked motivation. His mother tried everything and finally just gave up. When Alex arrived in my classroom he took great pleasure in dropping off 800 page books for me to read and hopefully discuss. At the end of school year I was exhausted from reading and declared I would seek out a reader for Alex…. thus The Alex Project. By the way, Alex struggled with a decent GPA but scored off the charts on his SAT and ACT and attended George Washington University. Now a graduate he has entered the military, no surprise to those of us who watched him read his way to success.
I wanted Alex to find someone who cared as much as he did about wars! I wanted to connect our community with our high school students. I knew we had incredibly bright students and I actually wanted to show them off! Our town has a very active Rotary and at their breakfast meeting I explained my idea. I would like to purchase 2 copies of a title and have the student and the adult read the same book at the same time and talk it over. No real rules, not meetings and no long-term commitment. Keep it simple! As I was pitching my idea I realized most of my audience thought they would be reading Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys mysteries! Little did they know how far we have come in young adult literature and interests! Signing up adults was easy; we located an equal number of students and now use our web site to select their top 3 titles. The books are ordered and then delivered and the Alex Project is underway.
The results are simply amazing. It is simply a project that is too good to be true. Easy to set up, easy to manage, and funding is rather easy knowing most grants seek a school community connection.”
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Centennial, CO 80112