Literacy
Austin ISD Boosts Independent Reading Efforts and Opens Access to Digital Books
Image Credit: myON.
The Austin Independent School District (AISD), the fifth largest school district in Texas, is expanding a pilot program involving thousands of digital books, in an effort to personalize literacy instruction for more than 85,000 students.
AISD partnered with myON last summer to test out the company’s digital literacy environment. As part of its 5-Book Summer Dive initiative to reduce summer slide in literacy, students could access more than 7,000 fiction and nonfiction books, both online or offline via a mobile app. The myON environment incorporates enhanced digital reading content (including daily news written specifically for students); cutting-edge literacy tools; and embedded metrics for teachers and administrators to monitor activity and growth.
“Now we’re increasing our efforts to provide equal reading access for every student in the Austin School District. In this way, we believe we are on the path to true literacy equity,” said Paul Cruz, AISD superintendent, in a prepared statement. “If we can offer our kids easy access, not only to the books they need, but to the books they’re really interested in, I know we’ll continue to inspire their passion for reading, which will in turn improve their overall academic achievement.”