San Fernando Valley Academy students have embarked on a new reading program called “Drop Everything and Read” (DEAR). Each student has been challenged to read a minimum of 1,500 pages from age-appropriate books before the end of this school year. As a result, many of them are discovering a new love for reading and don’t want to stop once they meet their goal.

In previous years, a number of SFVA teachers implemented this program in their classrooms, but this year the whole school is participating, and the program has been extended to include outside reading as well. The students have been asked to read as many books as possible and to keep track of the book names and the number of pages read. Once each record sheet is full, a parent then signs the sheet and tallies the total number of pages.

Tanya Stotz, second-grade teacher and SFVA’s DEAR program coordinator, is proud of the students’ progress. “Even though we are only halfway through the school year, some students have already surpassed their goal,” she said. “If students devote just 15-20 minutes to reading every day, they will be able to reach and even exceed 1,500 pages.”

Many students have already logged more than twice their goal. Second-grader Sharlene Carig (photo at left, bottom), fifth-grader A.C. Corrales, fourth-grader Reyna Gayton, third-grader Joshua Rodriquez, second-grader Noah Rodriguez, and fifth-grader Andrew Rolle have already read more than 4,000 pages each. In addition, the student who has read the most pages so far — Cristina Fariaz (photo at left, top) — has surpassed 10,000 pages!

SFVA’s principal, Arsenio Hernandez, likes the DEAR program because it gives students an opportunity to pursue their interests through books while improving their reading skills. “It’s really exciting when students tell me about the new things they’ve learned from the books they just read,” Hernandez said.

The school’s goal is for every student to be reading above his or her grade level by the end of the school year. During the week before summer vacation, the top reader of each class — and every class in which all the students have reached their goal — will be awarded $50. In addition to these rewards, if every class reaches their reading goals for the year, the student body will be treated to a surprise.

The staff appreciates the support of the many parents who sign the record sheets and constantly chauffeur their children to the library to check out stacks of new books.

Because monetary awards are offered at the end of the year, the school is also thankful for the DEAR sponsors. SFVA plans to continue the program and is looking for new sponsors for the next school year. For information, call 818-349-1373 and ask for Tanya Stotz.