The NYS PTA Literacy Committee is thrilled to thank all the Regions that submitted their PARP applications for the 2024-25 school year! We are continually amazed by the incredible dedication, hard work, and creativity that go into crafting outstanding PARP programs for our students. Fostering a love of reading is vital, as it enriches every child’s vocabulary, boosts memory, enhances communication skills, and fosters independence as they grow.

The “Meadow Candyland –Reading is a Sweet Treat” PARP program stood out for its use of clear, concrete goals that aligned with school district priorities and reflected a commitment to developing an accessible, truly inclusive program that would strengthen the Meadow School as a vibrant “literacy ecosystem.”  Drawing on these goals enabled your PARP team to collaborate with school staff to build a successful PARP program as well as make a final assessment and plan for future improvements. 

Equally outstanding was the 80% student engagement in the program, with all grades represented.  Frequent family and community participation was encouraged by providing multiple options (digital, print, social media, in-person, virtual, etc.) to take part in PARP events and activities.  A key example of inclusivity was the way weekly guest readers in each classroom could share favorite texts in a home language or culture, sometimes as a student author, or as a parent and child doing a bilingual reading.   

The program also fostered students’ creativity and diverse interests with many lively, hands-on activities in art, music, dance, theatre, crafts, games, and language arts. Children who hadn’t joined the program shared in whole-school PARP activities like Family Literacy Night, the game show closing event, and free books for all students. Thanks to “Meadow Candyland-Reading is a Sweet Treat,” reading at Meadow School has indeed been a “sweet, shared experience” in which “everyone is invited to the table.”

State Winner:

Nassau- Meadow School PTA, Meadow Candy Land – Reading is a Sweet Treat

Region Winners:

Central Hudson- Golden Hill PTA, Readopoly
Suffolk- Port Jefferson PTA, Rainbow Connection
Southeastern- Candor PTSA, World Book Day
Western- Maple West Elementary PTA, Travel Through Books
Northeastern- Rensselaer Park Elementary PTA, The Reading Eras Tour: Rensselaer Park’s Version