According to DallasNews.com, the majority of high school graduates in Texas are not prepared for college-level courses.

Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD is doing their part in helping students better prepare with a program called Self-Selected Reading.

The purpose of SSR is to encourage students to read on their own, which then helps students with reading comprehension and writing. These are some of the subjects that students are struggling with when they go on to get a higher education.

Although the program originally was not set up to better student grades, it has greatly impacted their progress since it started.

The Assistant Principal at Creekview High School in Carrollton, Kimberly Guinn, said this idea first came up after the four snow days last year. The school needed to make up for lost time and added 15 minutes to their school schedule, since they met their minimum hours anyway.

To figure out how to spend the additional time, administrators got together and the suggestion of Sustained Silent Reading came up. The English Department had already been trying it out after reading it in the book Readicide by Kelly Gallagher. The book goes over how reading can positively impact students’ reading ability and can also be fun. This idea would later spread throughout the school.

The C-FB ISD high school has kept the 15 minutes to their daily school schedule and used it for the program since September of this year. It now allows everybody in the school to have that time to read whatever they have checked out from the library or brought from home. No schoolwork or homework can be done during this time – just reading.

Since the school decided to keep the program, now called Self-Selected Reading, going, other high schools in the district, as well as some middle schools, have joined in as well.

Guinn also oversees the English department at Creekview and said there has been a noticeable change in the students’ progress since this program has started. She said many students have also started to look forward to their personal reading time.

“Students that usually didn’t read are reading,” Ms. Guinn said.

She went on to tell a story of a student whom she met with that told her she had already read seven books since the school year has started.

“She said she had read maybe four [total] last year.”

Sandy Gonzalez, a senior at Creekview, said although she also was not a big reader to begin with, she has really been enjoying it.

“I have even started reading at home, because I can’t wait for the next day [of SSR].”

Teachers at Creekview said they have heard no complaints and they love it as well. An English teacher said this not only helps them become better readers, but writers and learners, which will benefit them later in life.

“I wish we did this when I was in high school!” Ms. Guinn added.

The first 15 minutes of the students third period is used for this. And it has greatly encouraged students to read for more than just schoolwork since they can choose any book they want. Circulation at the library has been said to have also gone up 30 percent.

2:13 pm CDT on Thursday, October 20, 2011
By Nancy Aguirre