Submitted photo Aa’Meir Velasco, 6, a first grader at Willard PK-8 School in Warren, examines the summary of his new Reading Raider book.

WARREN — Javion Frazier loves the look, the feel, and even the smell, of a new book.

The 7-year-old took a long, deep breath as he held tight to the first book he received through the Warren City Schools’ Reading Raider Program.

“This is awesome,” he said.

The first grader is among students, preschoolers through fifth graders, across the Warren City Schools to receive a new book during the district’s launch of the Reading Raider program last week.

The Reading Raider Program is designed to get books into the hands of children, supporting and reinforcing the good habits and joy of reading, as well as creating a home library for students attending the Warren City Schools.

It was launched on the heels of the January announcement that the Warren City School District has reached a major milestone by no longer having any type of adverse federal designation for any building because of continuous academic improvement. None of Warren’s schools is designated as needing state support for educational purposes, as defined by the Every Student Succeeds Act plan, because of academic performance.

“This (reading program) is monumental,” said Willard PK-8 School Principal / Campus Leader Carly Polder. “You can just feel the excitement in the air and see it on (the students’) faces when they receive their books.”

Some students said they couldn’t wait to show their new books to their parents. Kindergartener Alicia Sorvillo, 5, said she was “really happy” to be able to take her new book home and “have it to keep.”

The Reading Raider Program had been in active planning stages, and district leaders agreed that March would be the perfect time to promote literacy and encourage reading at school and home. March is National Reading Month, and Read Across America is observed each year on March 2, which is the birthday of children’s author Dr. Seuss.

Teachers and administrators explained the program to students at each school.

“Every day you’re at school, you will receive your very own book,” Lincoln PK-2 Principal Treva Pytlik told students during a special assembly to introduce them to the program. Along with activities for students, each school has events in the works to encourage students’ families to get involved.

Reading Raider highlights include:

• All students in preschool through grade five receive a new book to take home and keep as their own every day they are in attendance during March.

• Additionally, students in preschool to grade five received a gold drawstring bag with the logo “Reading Raiders” on the back. Students also received other reading support items, such as a Reading Raider folder, stickers, etc., to help track their reading progress.

• All students in grades six to eight are offered a choice of one book per week based upon being in attendance for at least 90% of the instructional day, starting the week of March 4. Given that students in this grade band read larger text, chapter books, etc., this incentive is modified from the primary grades.

• At Warren G. Harding High School, a selection of 10 titles is being purchased for the school librarian, Joy Angelo, to work with English / Language Arts teachers to distribute to students interested in expanding their reading experiences. These selections will be available to students meeting the building-specific criteria, including the 90% attendance expectation during March.

• All schools in the Warren City School District are working on planning and communicating additional reading and literacy-based activities, family engagement experiences, and expanded classroom opportunities in support of the Reading Raider program.

• These experiences are announced by specific buildings to their families throughout March.

• The United Way of Trumbull County is partnering with each PK-8 school, one per week, to provide guest readers to visit classrooms and support the Reading Raider Program.