Try the schools.
It doesn't always work, but they can be a great way to get a huge boost in numbers. The easiest way is to ask the schools for a list of the teens' names after you've visited the classes or an assembly--many schools will do this and it saves them and you lots of time and those little registration papers.
Remind teachers that since they're assigning summer reading anyway, the teens might as well sign up for Summer Reading to make it official.
Offer to speak at a PTA or other meeting to reach parents. If you are doing classroom visits and are limited on incentives (sorry, but we ARE poor), bring a couple of things to either raffle off or award as prizes for trivia--it's a great way to tie together book-talks and Summer Reading and get the teens (especially middle schoolers) excited.
If you can't get into classrooms, try a "Summer Reading Great Race." Split your staff into teams and see how many schools they can drop off fliers at during a set amount of time. It can't hurt to at least get a foot in the door and leave materials in the office. If your staff is VERY small, race yourself (and make sure to reward yourself with something cold to eat or drink!).
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Is it fair to not even tell the teens they're being signed up? Wouldn't it be better to let the Teens decide? I mean I know it's all about the numbers but these aren't young kids.
ReplyDeleteIt's not just about numbers. We have 250,000 teens in Queens and last year only 7,000 of them signed up for summer reading yet we know that all of those teens had required reading for school. So where does it break down? We're not signing teens up behind their backs. The schools notify the teens and we provide the schools with bulk booklists and brochures and incentives to distribute to them.
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