Schuler Scholar Program Summer Reading List

The Schuler Scholar Program believes that all students should be reading throughout the year in addition to books for school. Our signature program for first and second year high school Scholars is all about improving reading skills. A recent blog post in Education Week, by Gary Huggins, Chief Executive Officer, National Summer Learning Association, reminds us that much of the learning taken place during the academic year can be “lost” over the summer. Students without access to enrichment programs, typically from under resourced communities, show the greatest losses, while those with access to summer programs can make academic gains. We have a lot planned for scholars over the summer across our all partner schools, but believe that to truly be a “Scholar,” you must read often and all the time.

Check out Round Lake’s summer series called “Scholars on the Soapbox.” http://scholarsonthesoapbox.blogspot.com/.  This is a good example of how one group of our scholars is engaging with literature and ideas over the summer. Scholars will also be speaking on tomorrow from 6:30-8:30PM at the Round Lake High School Theater on issues in their community such as school and community involvement, community pride, bullying, immigration rights, diversity, and educational opportunity.

Below is a sample of the books Schuler Scholars will be reading over the summer to keep their minds moving.

Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night by Mark Haddon

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran-Foer

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Freakonomics by Stephen Leavitt

Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells

An Island to Oneself by Tom Neale

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Lord of the Flies is by William Golding

Made in America by Bill Bryson

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The Motorcycle Diaries by Che Guevara

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

Naked by David Sedaris

One More Time by Mike Royko

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard

The Time Traveler's Wife Audry Niffenneger

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Sula by Toni Morrison

To learn more about the Schuler Scholar Program’s program model visit http://www.schulerprogram.org/programs/