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Empowering Young Readers: Authors Engaging Students
The Greensboro Bound – Guilford County Schools Partnership
In the heart of Greensboro, a powerful collaboration is transforming the way students connect with literature. While Greensboro Bound is best known for its annual Literary Festival, its impact reaches far beyond this marquee event. Through a partnership with Guilford County Schools (GCS), Greensboro Bound is igniting a love for reading in thousands of students.
Our mission is clear: to foster a lifelong love of reading in every student we reach, and through this, to empower the next generation of thinkers, creators, and leaders.
Authors Engaging Students (AES) is our flagship partnership with the Guilford County Schools Library Media Services (GCS LMS). Each semester we recruit authors, make virtual recording arrangements, and introduce new authors to thousands of students in Guilford County’s public schools. Greensboro Bound pays for author fees and donates three copies of up to three titles for each participating author to each participating school. We are devoted to hosting authors from diverse backgrounds with diverse stories so that every child can see themselves both on the page and in the face of the story teller.
The AES program, a cornerstone of our partnership with GCS, Scuppernong Books, and GCS Library Media Services (LMS), is designed to spark a genuine, intrinsic interest in reading among students. By bringing authors directly into classrooms—virtually—AES connects students with the minds behind the books they read, turning reading into an engaging, personal experience.
In the 2023-2024 academic year, the AES program brought 10 authors into 68 GCS schools, engaging over 33,000 students in the fall and an additional 28,000 students in the spring. This represents a year-over-year growth of 21% in school participation and a 16.9% increase in student participation, underscoring the growing impact and popularity of the program.
The authors selected for these visits were chosen with a focus on representation—60% of them were non-White, aligning with the diverse demographics of the GCS student body, of which 71% are non-White. This emphasis on representation is crucial; when students see themselves reflected in the stories they read, they are more likely to develop a lasting love for reading.
AES’ Measurable Impact
The impact of AES is not just theoretical; it is quantifiable. Schools that participated in the AES program experienced an 84% increase in library circulation compared to non-participating schools. This is a significant improvement from the previous year, which saw a 35% higher circulation in participating schools. The increase in circulation is a clear indicator that students are not only engaging with the program but are also choosing to read more on their own when they have the opportunity to connect with authors.
To further support this reading engagement, Greensboro Bound provided over 1,400 books to GCS school libraries during the 2023-2024 school year. These books were carefully selected to match the authors who visited, ensuring that when a student’s interest was piqued by an author, they could immediately access that author’s work. This strategic placement of books in libraries accounted for 21.6% of all new books added to GCS libraries that year, significantly enhancing the resources available to students.
The AES program’s ability to increase student engagement and boost library circulation highlights its success in fostering a culture of reading within GCS. By continuing to invest in and expand this program, Greensboro Bound is helping to build a foundation for lifelong literacy in the community.
Since 2018, the Authors Engaging Students program has:
- presented 70+ authors (in-person and virtually) in nearly 100 schools
- reached more than 80,000 students
- donated over 7,800 books to public school libraries
OTHER PROGRAMS
The Guilford County Schools (GCS) partnership involves four additional programs serving students plus a research initiative exploring the dramatic results of our Authors Engaging Students Program.
Spring Break Reading Challenge
Since its inception in 2020, the Spring Break Reading Challenge has encouraged students to keep reading even when school is out. Each year, 40 students who embrace this challenge are rewarded with gift certificates, allowing them to choose and purchase books that speak to their passions. This simple but powerful program ensures that the joy of reading continues, even during breaks.
High School Poet Laureate Program
For over two decades, the High School Poet Laureate Program has provided a platform for young poets to find their voices. Greensboro Bound proudly sponsors this initiative, which culminates in an annual gathering where selected poet laureates from participating high schools receive mentorship from accomplished poets. In 2023-2024, Greensboro’s first Poet Laureate, Josephus Thompson III, guided young poets from 14 schools, helping them refine their craft and share their work during the May Greensboro Bound Literary Festival. Each year, a chapbook of the Laureates’ writing is produced and provided to both the Laureates as well as school libraries.
Pre-K AES
Recognizing the importance of early literacy, Greensboro Bound expanded the AES program to include pre-K students through a collaboration with GCS Early Learning, Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready/Ready), and Scuppernong Books. This program introduces young learners to the joy of reading through carefully selected books and engaging author presentations.
Pre-K AES has been adopted by GCS Early Learning as an integral part of its pedagogy. In 2023-2024, every pre-K classroom in GCS—over 1,500 students—participated in the Pre-K AES program. The featured book, “Henry the Boy” by Molly Felder, offered students an empowering story of self-acceptance and resilience, told by an author who uses a wheelchair herself.
AES at the May Greensboro Bound Book Festival
For the first time, AES authors were featured at the May 2023 Greensboro Bound Book Festival, bringing the excitement of meeting an author to the festival’s youngest attendees. The 2024 festival built on this success, with four AES authors participating and hundreds of children receiving a free book, personally signed by the author. Partnerships with Casa Azul, Ready/Ready, GreenHill Gallery, and other community organizations created a vibrant, family-friendly environment that celebrated literature in all its forms.
Action Research
Action Research focuses on solving specific challenges within classrooms and schools, with the ultimate goal of improving both student learning and teacher effectiveness. For AES, action research is a critical tool. It allows us to validate the program’s success and delve deeper into its impact. For instance, schools participating in AES have consistently shown higher overall library circulation compared to non-participating schools—an encouraging sign that students are more engaged with reading when they have the opportunity to connect with authors.