With still weeks before the new school year starts, students of Leyden High School District 212 have time to continue the district’s summer reading program
“Through summer reading, students can sharpen existing skills and continue to broaden their worldviews. Summer is a great time for students to develop their own identity as readers, making their own choices about what to read, when to read, and how to reflect on what they’ve discovered. It can also help students avoid ‘summer slide’ by giving them literacy practice while school is not in session,” John Rossi, English department chair and East Leyden High School journalism adviser, told Pioneer Press.
District 212 includes East Leyden High School in Franklin Park and West Leyden, located in Northlake. The English departments at both schools are partnering to host the summer reading program, officials previously announced in a news release.
According to the release, students participate by selecting a book from the Lincoln Award master list, picking it up from the local library, reading the book over summer, then coming to school early in the new academic year prepared to discuss the book with peers and teachers.
“When we return in the fall, student discussion around our common reading list should further demonstrate the value of reading’s role in building community,” said Rossi.
Rossi said the district has long been “conscious” of the benefits of students continuing to read outside the school year, with different English classes usually requiring some version of summer reading for many years.
The district’s librarians usually organize reading challenges each summer, he said. But this summer, the English departments are working collaboratively, “making a more visible, uniform request of all students, rather than just of those in certain courses or those already engaged with library programming.”
The Lincoln Award recognizes the highest-voted book from a master list nominated by teachers and librarians, emphasizing popularity and literary quality, according to the district website.
Leyden Summer Reading List 1 – Lincoln List 2024, which is on the District 212 website, includes Kathleen Glasgow’s “You’d Be Home Now,” Huda Fahmy’s “Huda F Are You?,” Tyler Feder’s “Dancing at the Pity Party,” Tiffany D. Jackson’s “The Weight of Blood,” Katie Henry’s “Heretics Anonymous” and Tess Sharpe’s “The Girls I’ve Been.”
There are a host of other titles on the site.
“Summer reading allows students to discover genres, authors and themes that resonate with their interests, fostering a lifelong passion for literature,” officials stated on the website.
Leyden Summer Reading List 2 – Lincoln List 2025, which is on the website, includes Samira Ahmed’s “Hollow Fires,” Maria E. Andreu’s “Love in English,” Erik J. Brown’s “All That’s Left in the World,” Olivia A. Cole’s “Dear Medusa,” Lamar Giles’ “The Getaway” and Adalyn Grace’s “Belladonna” and several others.
The new school year starts Aug. 14.
