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With kids today spending most of their time in front of their t.v.'s, computers and video games, it's refreshing to see an environment that fosters a love of reading and writing. Greenbrier Elementary School is such an environment. Proudly calling itself "Home of the Reading STARS," Greenbrier remains true to its mission statement to be a school "committed to helping all children become responsible for their learning." Part of this commitment can be witnessed in their STAR* program, a reading and writing initiative created to stir enthusiasm for these important skills. STAR*, which stands for Students*Teachers*Authors*Readers*, was developed in 1999 to mark the turn of the century. Students received a star for every hour read. The goal was 2000 stars by the year 2000. Not only did the students meet that goal, they far exceeded it, reading 12,691 hours during the 1999-2000 school year. Now in its second year, the STAR* program has set a new goal of 15,000 stars. Reflective of the students' love of the program, they have already exceeded that goal - 3 months early. They currently have, according to their STAR-ometer in front of the school, 16,009 stars. The program continues to evolve since its inception two years ago. This year, a writing initiative was added. Individually, the children, ranging in age from grades K-4, are able to earn rewards such as STAR pencils and T-shirts as incentives to reach their goals. Greenbrier also has school-wide incentives planned every time they reach 5,000 stars. Charlottesville's
Dogwood parade is coming up on Saturday, April 28th, and the Greenbrier
Reading STARS will be marching. These kids should feel excited and proud
about their achievements. After consistently meeting and surpassing their
reading and writing goals, it's not hard to see that these STARS truly do
shine (Gretchen M. Mages, April 10, 2001).
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