Mastery Schools is proud to continue its multi-year initiative to transform K-3 classroom libraries. Four more elementary schools, Cleveland, Hardy, Pastorius-Richardson, and Prep Elementary, will receive a complete replenishment of high-quality books this summer. These refreshed libraries are part of a network-wide commitment to improve literacy outcomes, foster a love of reading, and ensure every student reads on grade level by the third grade.

Now in its second year, the initiative has already made a measurable impact. Classrooms at Clymer, Douglass, and McGraw–three schools that received new libraries last year–have reported increased student engagement, more independent reading, and improved fluency scores. 

At Douglass, second-grade teacher Liz Schultz has seen remarkable growth in her classroom since receiving new books.

“Since receiving the new library, I’ve noticed that my students have a super enhanced love of reading,” Schultz shared. “They get so excited to shop for books each week. They love picking out books that interest them and exploring new topics—and it’s made a huge difference in their reading growth.”

Her students’ oral reading fluency also doubled from fall to winter, rising from 24% meeting grade-level benchmarks to 48%. Schultz credits the improvement to the library’s diverse, engaging book selection and the joy her students now associate with reading.

Each new classroom library is carefully curated to include a broad range of genres, diverse characters, and culturally relevant topics. In addition to boosting academic outcomes, the libraries are also helping teachers create more organized, welcoming learning environments where students feel empowered as readers.

This initiative will continue over three years until every Mastery elementary school receives a complete classroom library refresh. As we welcome Cleveland, Hardy Elementary, Pastorius-Richardson, and Prep Elementary to this year’s cohort, we look forward to seeing even more young readers thrive.

This initiative is supported by a 3.7 million dollar Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) grant from the U.S. Department of Education.