After two weeks of collecting books from the English Department and National English Honor Society, NEHS has concluded its annual book drive, coming to an impressive grand total of 1,422 books. The teacher whose classes bring in the most books receives a prize, and this year English teacher Stephanie Hanson’s classes won the title, donating a total of 503 books to the school.

“It feels good to win. My students were really motivated, and I’m glad they are going to get rewarded for their contributions,” Hanson said.

The prize awarded to the winning teacher will be baked goods for all of their classes to be delivered on May 27, made by National English Honors Society members (NEHS).

“The book drive will provide students with engaging reading materials to use during DEAR. Hopefully the options available in classroom libraries through W4 classes will spark some interest in students who previously thought they hated reading because they did not enjoy the books they have had to read for school,” Hanson said

In this book drive, unlike others which collect donated books, such as elementary schools or other organizations, the collected books will be redistributed to classroom libraries here in AHS.

Of the three years that NEHS has been doing the book drive, this is the second year that the collected books have been used for our school. The first year that the drive had taken place, the donations had been given to Books for America, an organization located in Washington D.C. that distributes the books to schools, shelters and other educational institutions that may be in need.

There is a specific breakdown to how the donated books are being sorted.

“[The] books that are either too childish or too mature are going to be put through a swapping program where they are going to be exchanged for high school level ones. Easy reader chapter books are going to be distributed to the ESOL and special needs students who might find it easier to follow along, increasing the amount of books in their libraries,” junior Annika Hackfeld said. “High school appropriate books are going to be distributed to various classroom libraries, and books donated that are part of the English curriculum are going to be put in a type of teacher workroom so that they can be used throughout the year.”

11 English teachers and their classes participated in the drive, and all have contributed to enhancing literacy throughout the school.

The amount of books donated, as well as students’ motivation to participate in the drive, goes a long way in conveying the importance of reading and sharing books at AHS. If extra time ever arises in an english class, grab a book from a library to stimulate your mind.