Case Study: Acadia Elementary School boosts reading engagement with Renaissance Accelerated Reader and Star Reading

It takes a village: Raising engaged readers at an Arizona school

Acadia Elementary School, a high-poverty school in Arizona, was an underperforming institution facing challenges with student reading engagement and comprehension. To address this, the school partnered with Renaissance to implement its research-based Accelerated Reader program, along with Star Reading assessments, to motivate students and track their progress.

The Renaissance solution centered on using Accelerated Reader to incentivize reading and Star Reading for measuring growth. This was supported by intensive training for both staff and parents, who used tools like Renaissance Home Connect to monitor progress from home. The results were transformative: within two years, Acadia became a high-performing school, earning an "A" grade from the state and an A++ School of Excellence recognition. Students showed significant measurable growth, with sixth graders averaging 1.5 years of reading progress in a single year.

Acadia Elementary School

Christine Hollingsworth

Principal