How To Launch a Superintendent Book Club
BY JOETTA SACK-MIN/School Administrator, June 2017


Ann Bonitatibus, superintendent of the Conejo Valley Unified School District in Thousand Oaks, Calif., offers this advice to colleagues for starting a shared reading club.

» Get to know the interests and desires of your target audience. Make sure the text you select clearly connects with the goals of the district, school or classroom.

» Test the waters first with some volunteer readers. Be ready to manage divergent views.

» Start each meeting with an opening that creates a safe space.

» Facilitate the group, which means turning over the reins to others. Think of creative ways to structure the conversation each time.

» Ask your local library to order copies of the selected title. Schools can carry copies at their book fairs. Have free copies available for those who cannot or choose not to purchase their own and point people toward digital resources.

» Have Twitter chats simultaneously with your club meeting so those who cannot be there physically can participate digitally. You can even set up a blog for readers to post reflections in between meetings.

» Do not require members to attend every session. Let them flow in and out as they desire.


Joetta Sack-Min is a freelance education writer based in Northern Virginia. E-mail: joetta@k12strategies.com. Twitter: @jsackmin