Testimonials

The 100 Book Challenge reading program has made our school a real learning community. Students are developing a love of reading….

—Peter Stewart, Principal, Sidney Elementary School, NY

100 Book Challenge has enabled our school to provide our population of preK–5th grade students with 40,000 books [in] 100 regular education, special education, and ESOL classrooms….

—Gar Underwood, Assistant Principal, Hilton Head Elementary School, SC

The mini-lessons helped move students from magazines to books. For example, if the focus was for students to be able to describe the main character, they needed something to read with a main character, and they found that more in books.

—Ivy Deckard, Middle School Teacher, Jackson Middle School, TX

The Skills Cards and the IRLA have taught me how to teach reading. When a student wasn’t able to read, I used to say, ‘He can’t read.’ Now I can say why he can’t read, what’s holding him back.

—Classroom Teacher, FL

I have seen a change in attitude. … The children take out books on their own and groan when we have to stop.

—Second Grade Teacher, OH

The 100 Book Challenge not only gives students the opportunity to read; it motivates students to read because it is fun.

—Jane Marie Dewailly, Reading Coach, Volusia County School District, FL

One school just held an assembly to reward 100 Step [25 hour] readers, and 50 parents attended to see their children honored. That is a LOT of parents for this school.

—Assistant Superintendent, Camden City School District, NJ

Knowing they’re going to be authors, they pay attention to all the text features and appreciate all of the book.

—Kristina Grahe, Teacher of Gifted and Talented Students, Baltimore County Public Schools, MD

[100 Book Challenge] is the ONE thing that I did in my school that made a difference and CHANGED THE CULTURE of the school and community

—Middle School Principal, Atlanta Public Schools, GA

Research Lab allows educators to address the individual talents and needs of our students in a flexible well thought out way.

—Danielle Chiaro, Language Arts Teacher, Jersey City School District, NJ

The IRLA is a magnificent piece of work. No other assessment or program can match its depth and comprehensiveness—and we’ve searched!

—Elementary Principal, FL

100 Book Challenge is individualized, self motivating, and places the student in control of his or her own learning.

—Michael Mimms, Principal, Sumner Elementary School, NJ

100 Book Challenge was the glue needed for a full literacy program. The 100 Book Challenge has created a culture where reading at a high level is expected rather then simply hoped for.

—Trevor McDonald, Principal, James McEntee Academy, CA

Prior to [100 Book Challenge], my son had difficulty reading and did not enjoy it. Now he has a voracious appetite for books. Every evening he wants to read.

—Bonnie Colm, Parent

Ever since [my son] began 100 Book Challenge, he has been so excited about reading! He cannot wait to pick out new books and move to the next level.

—Sharon Randgo, Parent

The 100 Book Challenge has made our children enthusiastic readers, they are more likely to pick up a book and read on their own.

—Parent, DC

The 100 Book Challenge has also had an effect on raising both our Terra Nova and PSSA test scores over the past 9 years at Kearny School with the 2005 PSSA scores showing at least 66% of our 3rd & 5th graders reading at the Proficient and Advanced levels.

—Principal, Kearny Elementary School, PA

I went into his room to tell him to shut off the TV and go to bed, and [instead of TV] he was reading.

—Parent, School District of Philadelphia, PA

I had a wonderful morning visiting Zoology at Washington School! The children are so excited and are learning so much. One kindergartener said during a class discussion, ‘We’ve had so much rain, it looks like the wetlands!’

—Teacher, NJ

I can’t imagine being without this program.

—Principal, New York City Department of Education, NY

The 100 Book Challenge is one of the finest and most positive approaches to literacy that I have ever seen.

—Stephen M. Waldron, Elementary Literacy & Title Coordinator, Springfield School District: Delaware County, PA

We are thrilled with the wide range of genres and topics provided, and our children eagerly anticipate independent reading time each day.

—Dr. Cynthia M. Janssen, Chief Academic Office, Collier County School District, FL

Another benefit of the program is that parents who might not have read with their children before are reading with them now.

—Waverly Elementary School, PA

I’m excited to hear students talking about their reading goals and accomplishments, and seeing the school become a community of readers.

—Suzan C. Kaupa, Reading Coach, St. Lucie County School District, FL

I have never had a program impact my students so quickly. 100% of my students passed the TAKS test this year.

—Elementary School Teacher, Brownsville Independent School District, TX

Nowhere [else] have we found the breakdown of comprehension by levels [as in the IRLA].

—Reading Specialist, FL

[Research Labs] are amazing.…I never want to go back to anthologies again. The anthologies are stagnant and not relevant to our times.

—Danielle Chiaro, Language Arts Teacher, Jersey City School District, NJ

My daughter is very independent now and is able to do things we never thought were possible. She has an uplifting desire to learn. She can even read now because of the 100 Book Challenge.

—Kindergarten Parent, Propel Charter School, PA

I can honestly say this is one of the most outstanding programs we have ever implemented. It is amazing how the enthusiasm for this program has filtered into our entire community.

—Joyce A. Westgate, Director of Humanities, Binghamton City School District, NY

[From] Kindergarten up into the Intermediate grades…the students still love to hear their names announced over the PA system for the amount of [15-minute] Steps they read and proudly display their gold medals for every 100 Steps.

—Elementary Principal, School District of Philadelphia, PA

[100 Book Challenge] is the only program that gives teachers the confidence to work with students one on one.

—Assistant Principal, Rose Warren Elementary School, NV

100 BC provides us with a common, on-going measure and evaluation of students’ growth and development over time for the entire K-4 continuum, both in terms of level and pace. As such, it serves as the perfect internal growth model of student achievement.

—Director of Title Programs, Assessments, and Grant, Chichester School District, PA

I am very pleased with the success our child has had with 100 Book Challenge and the way he likes to read now.

—First Grade Parent, Propel Charter School, PA

The ‘performance gap’ at the first grade level has all but been eliminated within the…schools utilizing an early intervention model—the 100 Book Challenge.

—Steven R. Marrone, Coordinator of Federal Programs, Assessments, and Grants, Chichester School District, PA

With 100 Book Challenge, [my son] started reading all the time. … He rose from 2-Green (1st grade) to Black (4th grade) in one year, ending the year on grade level. Now he likes to read.

—Linda Pierce, Fourth Grade Parent, PA

100 Book Challenge is the only independent program I have seen that has achieved success at every site where it has been implemented. … There is no doubt about the results it brings.

—Tom Gill, Professor, Department of Literacy, West Chester University, PA

Thank you so much for all your help and support over the last few years. As you know, I will be retiring shortly and I did not want to leave without expressing my deep appreciation for all that you have done to help us establish the 100 Book Challenge program here at Springfield School District. This program has been one of the greatest supports to the children in attaining success in their reading. This year our children at Scenic and Sabold elementary schools have read for over 9,278,040 minutes! That represents an increase of 3,547,740 minutes of ‘Fun, Fast & Easy’ reading in which our children have engaged! Just being able to say that, is such a powerful thing. The children, parents and teachers are immensely proud of all our kids have achieved and that is directly because of what you and your company have brought to us. Give my best to everyone there.

—Elementary Literacy & Title I Coordinator, Springfield School District: Delaware County, PA

There are two things that are the most difficult for parents to teach, potty training, and how to read! 100 Book Challenge has really helped us with the second one. I mean there is so much to teaching reading, like comprehension, extending their vocabulary, context clues…and with 100 Book Challenge, we know how to coach them with their reading.

—Parent, DC

Through embedded conferencing and coaching procedures, 100 BC serves as an immediate and on-going diagnosis of student needs, both for instruction and possible further intervention. As such, it provides direct and up-to-date information to the teacher that serves as the basis for follow-up Guided Reading within the classroom. Additionally, it provides a common unifying vocabulary in terms of the day-to-day observations and the entire K–4 experience for each student.

—Director of Title Programs, Assessments, and Grant, Chichester School District, PA

100 Book Challenge is one of the most significant Reading Programs I’ve ever experienced. It supports reading both at home and in school. Kids are introduced to reading as a life style…self-selecting just the right books, allowing them to become successful readers. Kids not only learn ‘how to read’ but to ‘love’ reading as a way of learning. Kids develop the habit of reading.

—Third Grade Teacher, School District of Philadelphia, PA

A quiet young fifth grader became our school’s first 100 Step medal winner. His peers cheered for him when his name was announced over the loud speaker. Everyone began asking each other what step they were on. Then they started sharing their favorite books and helping each other. When we bought this program we did not anticipate the collegial spirit it would inspire and the truest sense of community. Our kids are really loving reading!

—Wissahickon Charter School, PA

The biggest payoff for us in terms of high-stakes testing is in the area of reading stamina and sustainability. Our students are no longer intimidated by ‘length or duration’ in terms of focused and engaged reading assessments. In fact, most of the students typically view these as ‘mini-tasks’ compared to their independent reading routines within 100 BC.

—Director of Title Programs, Assessments, and Grant, Chichester School District, PA

I can’t tell you how important it is for classroom teachers to ‘check’ student independent reading levels. From experience and tons of conversations with parents—independent reading MUST be fast, fun and easy. We lose kids quickly when they attempt to read books that are too hard. The most effective way to make sure this is done is to build in teacher/student conference time daily. This way, teachers are able to assess students every day and monitor their just right levels. One of the biggest parts of 100BC that relates directly to students making progress in reading. VOLUME + JUST RIGHT LEVELS + TEACHER/STUDENT FREQUENT CONFERENCES = reading success!

—Peter Stewart, Principal, Horace Mann Elementary School, NY

The students are enthused about reading and are very excited about being on TV, which is where they receive their medals for the increments of 100 Steps. You could hear students saying, ‘If I read 2 more Steps, I’ll be there,’ or, ‘…I’ll get my sticker for my chart.’ They are counting ahead to see where they will be.

—Orange River Elementary School, FL

As a first year charter school, we recently asked parents to document the changes they have noticed in their child since enrolling in our school. … The majority of parents mentioned how much and how well their child is reading compared to their old school. We attribute much of this success directly to our involvement with [100 Book Challenge].

—Propel Charter School, PA

…I relied heavily on 100 Book Challenge during summer school this year and saw amazing results with some of my lowest readers; the confidence boost being able to read independently gives them provides the motivation to work hard at school and at home. Three students even stayed in the room during every single 15 minute break to get extra practice! And these are 17 year olds we’re talking about!

—Amy Long, TX

I am hooked on 100 Book Challenge. The students LOVE it, their attitudes and feelings towards reading are transformed. We can feel the excitement in the air when it’s time to earn a step. One of my children told me last week that he has the ‘reading bug.’ I am trying to tell them to be aware of their reading habits—and to let me know when it feels strange NOT to have a good book to read….we are making progress.

—Third Grade Teacher, Baltimore County Public Schools, MD

The 100 Book Challenge promotes reading at our school. Students feel successful reading at their independent levels and, with this feeling of success, become avid readers. It is such a wonderful sight to see students walking through the halls with books in their hands!

—Elementary Principal, School District of Philadelphia, PA

Struggling readers were experiencing success since they were able to self-select books at their ‘just right’ level. The embedded incentive component encouraged our students to want to read more and move levels. As a reading teacher, I was so excited to hear my students discussing books. They were actually recommending book titles to each other. I also noticed a strong interest in the selection of non-fiction text.

—Reading Teacher, Baltimore County Public Schools, MD

My students are academically achieving more than students I have had in the past. The Research Labs/100 Book Challenge combination allows my learners to read, conference, write, reflect and present on an ongoing basis. I see through relevant assessments and discussions with the students an amazing growth in not only their tremendous amount of stamina, which has helped to develop their reading comprehension and engagement, but the way they can converse on specific topics and utilize appropriate task or thematic vocabulary with ease and nonchalance!

—Danielle Chiaro, 7th Grade Language Arts Teacher, Jersey City School District, NJ

I have become a better teacher because of Research Labs! I feel Research Labs have given me the freedom I need to address my students’ needs and levels. I am no longer confined to the one-dimensional aspects of an anthology [when teaching Language Arts]. Students are able to develop stamina and build comprehension skills while reading the core novels…. [A]n anthology offers students a two page irrelevant story…not connected to anything they are studying, the vocabulary was also something unconnected to the weak thematic units I would try to develop.

—Danielle Chiaro, Language Arts Teacher, Jersey City School District, NJ

As an ESL teacher, I have seen first-hand how the leveled books in English help my students with their second language acquisition. They really go for the non-fiction titles. My students love to take those books home to help everyone in the family learn new English vocabulary.

—ESL Teacher, Trenton City School District, NJ

[100 Book Challenge] has created a little competition that we [parents] think is good. They see someone else in their class reading and they want to read, they hear about a book that someone else has read and liked, and they want to read it too. It helps because they want to keep up with their classmates and it just has helped to keep up their interest in reading.

—DC

The books are so beautiful and relevant, they are seen as the touchstones for classroom libraries. I was visiting a classroom and one little African-American girl pointed to the cover of a book she was reading and told me, ‘That girl looks like me!’ And she did. I asked her, ‘They wrote a book about you?’ The girl replied, ‘Yes, they did. And it’s a very good book.’

—Assistant Superintendent, NJ

100 Book Challenge has made a tremendous change in my daughter’s reading. When she first started, I didn’t think anything about it, but as time went on Taylor was reading more and so much better. … So I like to thank the school system for going with the 100 Book Challenge. You made a big difference. Thanks!

—Parent, Margaret Park Elementary School, OH

As far as incentives go, what is wrong with a child getting a gold medal after every 25 hours of reading? My students wear them every time we have a school-wide celebration. We reward athletes with trophies and attendance with certificates. Some of my students have never been recognized for anything academic. This is the first time and there is the opportunity for every child to improve and more read daily. Every student has the same opportunity to succeed, regardless of their independent reading level.

—Baltimore County Public Schools, MD

Finding a student’s ‘just right fit’ during specific times of the school year allows teachers to realize the needs of the classroom population, and design mini-lessons, target lessons and even academic interventions that can change a classroom’s direction.

—Danielle Chiaro, Language Arts Teacher, Jersey City School District, NJ

Since my daughter began the 100 Book Challenge program, her reading has become more fluent. It has extended her vocabulary, which has helped her become a better writer as well. The gradual increase of reading difficulty has encouraged her to learn new words and has enabled her to read for longer periods of time without getting bored. She also spends more time reading for fun and likes going to the library in search of new reading material. Overall, her language skills have improved tremendously during the course of the 100 Book Challenge program and as a parent I am pleased with my child’s continued progress.

—Third Grade Parent, Margaret Park Elementary School, OH

As a teacher and I finished a conversation from a previous class period, students from the next class began to trickle in. The first two students to enter pulled out their log sheets and bragged about doing their home reading, to the amazement of their teacher. Previously, the one student had only read at home sporadically, while the other had never done homework at all!

—Teacher Coach, Charlotte County School District, FL

My child loves to read now. He doesn’t have to be told to read his books. He gathers his books and will come to his mom or dad or older sibling and ask us to listen to him read! Reading is knowledge and Noah is doing a great job with his reading. We are very proud of him.

—Kindergarten Parent, Propel Charter School, PA

The children are VERY excited about the medals they receive for reading. Not only are the students wearing the medals, but I have seen parents wearing them, too. I saw a cashier at a store wearing 7 medals, and I asked her, ‘Is that a 100 Book Challenge medal?’ The woman held it up and said, ‘It sure is, honey!’ She has 2 or 3 children in the program.

—Assistant Superintendent, Camden City School District, NJ

I just wanted…to let you know how GREAT the 100 Book Challenge Program is. I have seen a complete change in [my son] Joey’s outlook on reading. Up until this program started, it was a battle to get him to read anything. We have purchased many books and nothing worked. He now looks forward to reading every night. One night he surprised me when he was so quiet in the Family Room. I asked what he was doing. He replied, ‘I want to log an hour tonight.’ He ended up with an hour and a half.

—Parent, Charlotte County School District, FL

The [assessment] criteria are based on national standards and the Voluntary State Curriculum which aligns with the BCPS curriculum. Teachers determine upward movement. [100 Book Challenge] is a program requiring teacher judgment and assessment and helps me differentiate for students each school day. It provides authentic, not contrived literature, a balance of fiction and nonfiction choices. There is a tremendous amount of research and data over 10 years to support the instructional strategies.

—Teacher, Baltimore County Public Schools, MD

It was important for me to get the students reading right away when they came in the room each day, so I did the ‘housekeeping’ later in the period. After about a month, the routines were established and I started conferencing, starting with my lowest level readers.

—Ivy Deckard, Jackson Middle School, TX

I was coaching a fifth grader who didn’t really like to read before 100 Book Challenge. As her coach I saw that she was getting excited about the book she was reading and asking a lot of questions like how a book can be fiction if it really has a lot of true ‘stuff’ in it? It was the first time she was asking questions and questions that showed she was thinking about what she was reading.

—Wissahickon Charter School, PA

The children are very excited about becoming zoologists!!!! They love walking around the room with their clipboards that they use to diagram animals, take surveys of favorite savanna animals, etc. We really enjoy the pages where we show children how to draw specific animals step by step. We take mini art lesson and they have drawn dogs, pigs, lions, and giraffes thus far. We are impressed in the children’s writing that they are using the power words and spelling them correctlly in their sentences. Also we see the children beginning to spell phonetically…(example a child sounded out tiger and spelled it tigr) We were amazed!! All in all, it is evident that this program touches on the various aspects of our Literacy program.

—Teacher

100 Book Challenge has made a tremendous difference in teaching and learning at our school. Children are reading, reading, reading! Teachers are conferencing and are much more aware of students’ needs and abilities because of it. There is an excitement about reading that permeates the building. Reading is a celebration!

—Pamela Chatelain, Third Grade Teacher, Margaret Park Elementary School, OH

I had a better experience teaching reading this year [with the addition of 100 Book Challenge]. There were no student comments about ‘boring.’ All the students moved up on the Stanford data. The kids love to present book talks, especially the ESL and Special Education students. They love the easy books. The kids hide books, so they can be the first to read them.

—Middle School Teacher, Houston Independent School District, TX

Goldfarb Elementary School witnessed double digit gains in our test scores this year and I contribute much of that success to 100 Book Challenge. The program gave students exactly what they needed, that being the ability to apply skills independently that were taught to everyone as a class.

—Dr. Jacqueline S. Conarton, Principal, Goldfarb Elementary School, NV

One teacher asked that I verify the reading level of one student whose parents pressure him to read 1.5 hours per night and insist that he can read at a higher level. After conferencing with the student, we saw that he was actually reading independently at a lower level than even the teacher realized. We were able to identify his appropriate level using the Skills Cards and then used the Independent Reading Level Assessment to score the student at that level and to take specific notes with regard to what the student was able to do without coaching and what he needed to do in order to master the level and move on. The teacher was able to use the notes from our discussion that same afternoon to help the parent understand what the child’s independent reading level is, how important it is for him to read text that is ‘fun, fast, and easy,’ and how to help him make progress at the independent level.

—CA

Last January, Delaware Valley Charter High School implemented the 100 Book Challenge program as part of its literacy initiative. We were very pleased to see an increase of 15% in our PSSA reading scores. We attribute much of those gains to the program and to having students reading every day. We are looking forward to strengthening the program this year, and expect to see even greater gains.

—Ava Bedden, CEO, Delaware Valley Charter High School, PA

[100 Book Challenge] has greatly served us in bridging the home-school gap by providing a vehicle for a set procedure/routine, materials, vocabulary, and understandable system of measuring progress. Parents are introduced to one system from the first days of kindergarten that carry through for the entire elementary experience of their child. This consistency of skills and strategies provides an obvious link for home follow-up, reinforcement, and further intervention.

—Director of Title Programs, Assessments, and Grant, Chichester School District, PA