“Hampton Reads One Book” Program Creates Reading Revolution

A reading revolution is taking place in Hampton, Virginia. Twice each year, in the fall and spring, all families across the district’s elementary schools (K-5) read the same book at the same time. The “Hampton Reads One Book” program supports family literacy while also creating excitement across the entire community. 

Spearheaded by Kelli Cedo, the Language Arts Curriculum Lead for Hampton City Schools, Hampton Reads One Book has become deeply ingrained in the community. “Our families absolutely love it,” Cedo says. “If we ever stopped doing the program, there would be real push back from the community.” 

In the fall of 2020, families read xxxx, with students accessing materials via Chromebooks to provide maximum flexibility during the pandemic time of remote learning. The program continued to focus on community involvement, and families were so engaged that some wanted the pace of reading to slow down so they could enjoy the book together longer.

How Spreading the Program Across Coastal Virginia Will Improve Literacy

All District Reads, a 501(c)(3) organization headquartered in Virginia, wants to spread the One Book program to the other Seven Cities in Coastal Virginia: Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Newport News, Suffolk, Portsmouth, and Chesapeake. All District Reads seeks to partner with parents, schools, and local communities to help bridge the literacy gap among elementary school students by providing a shared reading experience designed to create a passion for books and language. 

The All District Reads reading programs encourage reading aloud in the households and classrooms of all elementary-age students in participating communities, with special advantages for low-income students who may come to school at a distinct disadvantage in terms of reading and language proficiency. Our programs provide children with a new book to take home for parents to read nightly over a period of several weeks. By exposing all children in a school to the same book at the same time, we encourage cross-age sharing about the story. By emphasizing families reading books aloud, our programs allow readers of all abilities to enjoy the same stories. All District Reads programs are unique in that we offer them at absolutely no cost to schools. Furthermore, our programs support family literacy and create excitement about reading across the entire community.

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All District Reads provides teachers with trivia questions, activities, and discussion prompts for each book title, allowing students to engage in book conversations and to use the vocabulary they have heard. Reading comprehension follows language acquisition, and we expect a consistent read-aloud curriculum to result in improved reading test scores. More importantly, we seek to change the culture of reading in the home and build a love of books while helping promote educational equity across participating districts.

Gary Anderson, M.Ed., Founder