Norwich Tech Honored For Summer Reading Prowess

HARTFORD — Several Connecticut schools were honored today for their reading prowess in summer 2021, with the governor issuing a new challenge for summer reading for this year.

Gov. Ned Lamont, Connecticut State Department of Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker and State Librarian Deborah Schander Tuesday announced the launch of the 2022 Governor’s Summer Reading Challenge, an annual, statewide program encouraging students to read books during the summer months.

This year’s theme is “Read Beyond the Beaten Path!”

“There is a considerable amount of research indicating that children who do not read during the summer can lose valuable reading progress made during the prior school year,” Lamont said. “We want to encourage all students to read, learn, and have fun with books during the summer months.”

According to Russell-Tucker, getting kids to read in the summer not only has classroom benefits, but lifetime ones as well.

“The Governor’s Summer Reading Challenge helps foster confident and proficient readers in Connecticut and is a gateway to becoming productive, engaged lifelong learners for many of our students,” Commissioner Russell-Tucker said.
Schander agreed.

“Learning doesn’t stop at the end of a school year, and summer reading plays a vital role in our students’ ongoing development as friends and citizens,” Schander said. “Congratulations to all our 2021 top-performing schools and students.”

Coordinated by the state Department of Education in cooperation with the Connecticut State Library, the challenge is a statewide competition for schools based on student population and grade level.

Students have read millions of books since the program began in 1996.

The summer reading program also supports community initiatives run by local public libraries and recognizes “Outstanding Public Library-School Partnerships.”

Each year, the schools with the highest percentage of participating enrollment and the highest number of books read by participating students at the end of the summer are recognized for their accomplishments.

Recognized during an event Tuesday were the top-performing schools in the 2021 Governor’s Summer Reading Challenge, “Tails and Tales,” during which 19,463 students participated and read nearly 189,200 books.

Those top-performing schools from the 2021 Governor’s Summer Reading Challenge are:

Elementary Schools

• Booth Free School (Regional School District 12 — Washington, Bridgewater and Roxbury )

• Booth Hill School (Shelton)

• Burnham School (Regional School District 12 —Washington, Bridgewater and Roxbury )

• Frisbie Elementary School (Wolcott)

• Lee H. Kellogg (Regional School District 1 — Canaan, Cornwall, Kent, North Canaan, Salisbury and Sharon)

• Washington Primary School (Regional School District 12 — Washington, Bridgewater and Roxbury)

Middle Schools

• Abraham Baldwin Middle School (Guilford)

• Dr. Joseph S. Renzulli Gifted and Talented Academy (Hartford)

• Hillcrest Middle School (Trumbull)

• Tyrrell Middle School (Wolcott)

• Westbrook Middle School (Westbrook)

• Whisconier Middle School (Brookfield)

High Schools

Norwich Technical High School (Connecticut Technical Education and Career System)

Unique/Private Schools

• Riverview School (Unified School District 2 — Middletown)

• St. Mark School (Stratford)

• Talcott Mountain Academy (Avon)

Questions about participating in the program can be directed to Joanne R. White at joanne.white@ct.gov.

For Gov. Ned Lamont's full announcement of the Summer Reading Challenge, visit this link.

Student journals, district reporting forms and all other materials related to the Governor’s Summer Reading Challenge are available online at portal.ct.gov/SDE/CTRead/Connecticut-Reads.