Photo by Richard Hurd
Mad for Reading Marks One Year of Building Literacy and Community Across MMSD
MADISON, Wis.—The Madison Metropolitan School District’s Mad for Reading initiative has entered its second year with growing student participation and expanded community partnerships aimed at strengthening literacy across the district.
Since launching last school year, 3,344 students have logged more than 10,000 books and more than 808,000 minutes of reading through the program. The initiative is designed to help students build stronger reading habits while creating new opportunities for families, educators and community partners to engage with books together.
Mad for Reading encourages students to find books that excite them, track their reading and build community by participating in school and districtwide challenges. This year, MMSD introduced a new reading-tracking app powered by Beanstack, allowing students and families to log reading minutes, earn digital badges and celebrate milestones as part of a districtwide goal of reaching 2.6 million minutes read by the end of the school year.
Participation is increasing across all grade levels.
- Among elementary schools, Schenk Elementary School currently leads with more than 140,000 minutes logged. John F. Kennedy Elementary School has the highest participation rate, with nearly 90 percent of students actively recording their reading, followed closely by Henry David Thoreau and Lapham elementary schools.
- At the middle school level, Ezekiel Gillespie Middle School leads with more than 54,000 minutes logged and about 58 percent student participation, with Georgia O’Keeffe and Black Hawk middle schools close behind.
- East High School currently leads district high schools with more than 16,000 minutes logged.
“This past year has shown what’s possible when a community comes together around literacy,” said Dr. Joe Gothard, superintendent of MMSD. “Mad for Reading is helping students discover the joy of reading while building critical skills that support their success in school and beyond.”
Community partnerships have also supported the program’s growth. Organizations including the Madison Public Library, Madison Reading Project and Wisconsin Book Festival have helped expand access to books and literacy programming for students and families, while the UW Badgers, Forward Madison FC and Athletes Unlimited have helped bring literacy into new spaces by pairing reading with athletics and community events.
“Seeing reading celebrated across schools and the broader community helps strengthen students’ confidence and motivation as readers,” said Maegan Heindel, MMSD’s library services coordinator. “Our libraries, classrooms and community partners are all working together to help students discover books that spark their curiosity.”
Mad for Reading also includes a variety of school and districtwide activities designed to promote literacy engagement, including the annual Book Bowl, Copa de Libros, Read Your Heart Out and family literacy nights.
The initiative reflects MMSD’s ongoing focus on ensuring every student develops strong literacy skills and a lifelong interest in reading.
More information about Mad for Reading is available on the MMSD website.
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About the Madison Metropolitan School District
The Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) is the second-largest school district in Wisconsin, serving more than 25,000 students across 52 schools. The district’s vision is that every school will be a thriving school that prepares every student to graduate ready for college, career and community. With more than 6,000 teachers and staff, MMSD is committed to ensuring the district’s goals and core values are held at the center of its efforts, so students can learn, belong and thrive. For more information, visit mmsd.org.