July 22, 2019

As a company, our mission is to accelerate learning for all. So, one of our favourite things is when we learn about how our solutions help schools to achieve that. Recently, one of our Account Managers, Naz, received an email from a member of staff at Glebe School in Kent. Kim Bisson, an ex-school librarian and teaching assistant, was about to retire and had something to say to us before she left. We were so moved by her words, we wanted to share them…

 

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To all at Renaissance,

After about ten years of working with students on the Accelerated Reader scheme, I am retiring this Friday and sadly will no longer be working in schools with students and books. I first started using Accelerated Reader with students at Bishop Justus School in Bromley roughly ten years ago, then at Cleeve Park School in Sidcup, and for the last two and a half years at Glebe School in West Wickham.

Supporting students with their reading has always been a passion of mine, as an ex-school librarian of 18 years and a teaching assistant responsible for AR for the last two and a half years. Your Accelerated Reader scheme has not only given me numerous opportunities to introduce students to great books but reward them for their successes and dedication to reading. I have also met every type of reluctant reader and for nearly all, with the help of AR, I have managed to find something that they like. I have enjoyed every interesting discussion and activity linked to books that has followed.

Your Accelerated Reader scheme is brilliant and I want to send a special thank you to all your staff that have supported me with it over the years. None of my questions have ever been treated as daft, and they have always sent me really useful information: sometimes more than I asked for. In the last two years I have attended several of your workshops which have been so useful. Special thank you to your colleague Terri Burr for looking after me and my boss at them. [Shout out to Terri, who organises and runs all our events pretty much by herself. We love you, Terri!]

AR has really had an impact at Glebe School, which is a school for students with learning difficulties. Some of their achievements might seem small to other schools but to our students they are big, and we have got them reading more. We are about to progress AR into Year 9 and from September will be using myON as well. I’m sad I will miss that but really pleased for the school. My new headteacher is very pro-reading, and loves AR, so watch this space.

So thank you again, Renaissance. In all my years of working in schools, you are one of the best companies I have worked with. I wish you lots of success in the future.

Kind regards,

Kim Bisson

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Thank you

Thank you to Kim for sharing her AR story with us, and for allowing us to share it here. Accelerated Reader can’t exist without the hard work of teachers, TAs, and librarians, like Kim. Kim, we think Glebe School is going to miss you, and we wish you all the best!

Has Renaissance made a difference to your teaching career? Tell us – we love hearing about it! Email us: answers@renlearn.co.uk or talk to us on Twitter.

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