A large, colorful display on the lobby wall at Friendship Elementary School puts a playful twist on a classic sci-fi catchphrase:

“Take me to your readers.”

Throughout the 2024-25 school year, veteran teacher Ashlee Hall tracked students’ reading progress by moving their spaceships through the galaxy to show their word count gains. At the top of the display, the final star was reserved for travelers who read one million words.

Hall is the school’s Save the Children reading ambassador. Save the Children provides grant funding for training and resources to help schools accelerate literacy growth.

“This is an incredibly beneficial program,” Hall said. “Every student can make gains because the data provided through the testing pinpoints comprehension skills that need work. That’s my focus.”

In 2024-2025, 59 Friendship students in first through fifth grade participated in the program through Accelerated Reader (AR) testing. They read 13,507,854 words, up from 10 million words in 2023-2024.

All students are tested at the beginning of the year to determine eligibility. Hall works with them in groups of four to five, using books and book studies to help them strengthen specific focus skills and raise their reading levels. She also works with kindergarten and first grade students on early comprehension skills.

This isn’t a reading intervention program but a proactive approach to building literacy. A fourth grader may be reading at grade level, but testing reveals a gap in a skill typically learned in second grade. Hall targets that skill to help students stay on track – or ahead – as they move through school.

With Hall’s guidance, students set their own reading goals, choosing books based on their reading level and interests. Along the way, they earn rewards and develop a love for reading. Save the Children donors provide the incentives, which include books, toys, games and more. In three years, Save the Children has given 7,500 free books to Friendship students.

Family engagement and community involvement are also important components of the literacy program. 

“A love for reading really begins in the early years at home and is nurtured throughout our lives,” she said. “That’s why I pour so much effort into activities that promote reading at home and community and school events that show how much fun reading is.”

Two other Crockett County School District schools – Gadsden Elementary and Maury City Elementary – receive Save the School grant funding. Although district leaders agree that the program works, the grant is not guaranteed beyond 2025-2026.

“When you’ve been [teaching] as long as I have and you see what works, you hate to even think about [the program] not being here,” Hall says. “We are always looking for sponsors and donors to partner with us to support this avenue of student learning.”

Learn more at savethechildren.org.