Ecker Hill’s One Book One School program spotlights literacy, community, and Reynolds

Jason Reynolds, author of the district-approved novels Ecker Hill Middle School students are reading during the school’s One Book One School program, is scheduled for a virtual visit Friday, Feb. 27. Photo: Jason Reynolds

ECKER HILL, Utah — Ecker Hill Middle School students are spending advisory time this winter reading together as part of the school’s annual One Book One School program, a six-week effort designed to promote literacy and build community across grades and classrooms.

“This past week, EHMS kicked off our annual One Book One School Program,” said Lara Rude, the school’s library media specialist.

For the next six weeks, Rude said, students will read district-approved novels by author Jason Reynolds during advisory. Each grade is reading a different title: Sixth grade is reading “Look Both Ways,” seventh grade is reading “Ghost,” and eighth grade is reading “Long Way Down.” The program includes discussion questions and activities tied to the books and will conclude with a virtual author visit on Friday, Feb. 27, Rude said.

Rude said Ecker Hill has run the program since 2012, adapting it over the years while keeping the goal consistent: getting students — and staff — reading at the same time.

“It’s always been mostly six weeks where we just come together, promote literacy, promote community, where we’re just all doing the same thing,” Rude said. “It’s fun for them to see their science teacher reading a book, or their PE teacher — not just their English teacher.”

Rude said the school has experimented with different formats, including classics, graphic novels, and, last year, a project built around Utah author Jennifer Nielsen, who visited in person after the school received a grant through the State Library Association. That year, Rude said, the school selected eight of Nielsen’s books and held a “Battle of the Books” competition.

This year, Rude said she wanted shorter, accessible books that would fit the six-week schedule and work across a wide developmental range — especially now that the school includes sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. She said a committee of teachers helped consider which books would be the best match for each grade.

Rude said Reynolds stood out because she considers him “one of my favorite middle school authors” and because of his presence as a speaker.

“I actually got to see him at a middle school conference a couple of years ago in person, and he’s just this amazing, dynamic storyteller and speaker,” she said.

Booking Reynolds for a virtual visit cost more than the school expected, Rude said, but she sought support and received it. She credited the Park City Education Foundation and Ecker Hill’s School Community Council for funding the program, and said an anonymous donor doubled a grant from the foundation. Rude also said the publishing company provided a significant discount on the books, which allowed the school to provide a copy for every student to keep.

Rude said some advisory periods will include reading along with audio versions. She said the books are three and a half to four hours long in audio format, which helped the school plan reading time across January and February.

The programming includes hands-on activities connected to characters and themes. For sixth graders reading “Look Both Ways” — a book Rude described as “a tale told in 10 blocks” about different students walking home from school — one activity has students design a skateboard deck for a character in the story, incorporating symbols from the book.

For seventh graders reading “Ghost,” Rude said the novel follows a coming-of-age story in which the main character joins a track team, and teachers are using a “shoe autopsy” activity connected to the character’s attempt to improve his shoes.

“It kind of keeps him out of trouble at the same time,” she said of the track storyline, describing the book as one that prompts students to consider how they would respond in certain situations.

For eighth-graders reading “Long Way Down,” Rude said the book tackles heavier subject matter, including gun violence and questions of retaliation, and that it was selected with the age group in mind.

“It’s a heavier theme that I think eighth graders are ready for,” she said, adding that the books were approved through the school district.

Rude said author visits have been part of the program for roughly a decade, with a mix of local authors visiting in person and others appearing virtually. With enrollment growth limiting how many students can fit in the auditorium at once, she said virtual events can reach classrooms without multiple assemblies.

Rude said the author visit is meant to make the work feel real — and the writer visible — to students.

“I think it’s really cool for the kids to see that authors are real people, and maybe it would inspire some of our students to become authors and writers,” she said.

Rude also noted that “Ghost” is available in Spanish and that the school has copies for multilingual language learner students, while students continue working to read alongside their peers in English.

“It really is just coming together and reading, which is so simple, but doesn’t happen often enough in our lives,” Rude shared.