Middle school students start their school days around 9:30 a.m., although students start arriving at schools as early as 7:30. Universal Orlando Foundation is funding a pilot Middle School Morning Book Club at Westridge, Howard and Legacy middle schools to encourage "pleasure” reading during these early morning hours.
The program will run an hour before school starts once or twice a week and will be guided by a facilitator. The goal is to help struggling readers build literacy skills. How this accomplished will differ slightly from group to group. Some will have separate girls and boys into different groups, some will use e-readers, some will incorporate a parent involvement component. All will focus on building the joy of reading.