Open books are opening minds to new worlds for students at The Summit in Pasadena ISD.

The Great Stories Club is being funded through a grant through the American Library Association and the Young Adult Library Services Association. The focus of the program is to reach at-risk teens through books that are relevant to their lives.

“This program has become very popular with our students,” said Robert DeWolfe, principal of The Summit. “It gives them access to books that truly capture their attention, which in turn, encourages them to continue reading.”

As part of the program, the campus received theme-related books to provide to members of the book club to keep, along with online resources. In addition, students participate in a weekly book discussion.

Teacher Linda Risinger said the book discussions have made the texts come to life for the students.

“It is something that they look forward to every Thursday,” Risinger said. “Since these books relate to events that may be relevant to their lives, it sparks some intense discussion and interpretations. “It also takes them into a deeper level of thinking.”

Risinger said the Summit’s students have served as true advocates for their program and are responsible for its growth.

“What is encouraging is that they tell other classmates about how much fun they are having in the book club – and it fuels more interest in reading among the students,” she said.

The response to the program has been so great that students are requesting new varieties of books to be added to the Summit library. To that end, other teachers have purchased books from the Scholastic Book Club to fulfill the students’ growing requests.

“It is exciting when the students are coming to us and requesting books,” Risinger said. “The book club has truly opened up a new environment for learning on our campus.”