Public Schools

Arizona Public Schools Programs

There is a new game in town. Bikes for Books is creating much excitement in Tucson
schools. The Masons in Tucson are donating bicycles to schools to encourage students to
read more. Several school Librarians have reported major increases in library usage.

The programs sole purpose is to create an immediate interest for students to do additional
work to improve their reading and writing skills and basic knowledge states Henry
Spomer, State Chairman of the Masonic Public Schools Programs. Masonic Lodges
through out the state have donated over 1,000 bicycles to schools to start the program and
continue to do so each year. Several hundred bikes donated by the 10 Tucson Masonic
Lodges have gone to Tucson schools. Jenna Marvin, Secrist Middle School Teacher
turned Librarian pursues her goal of turning as many students into readers as possible,
this can involve things just short of bribery.

Linda S Head, Librarian of Quail Run Elementary School advised they have been able to
build a very successful reading program around the beautiful bikes, The program has
greatly increased the enthusiasm for our Accelerated Reading Program designed to
encourage outside pleasure reading. When the bikes arrived at the school and placed on
display in the library, the students began asking when we were going to start the program.

Les Lauen, Librarian at Mansfeld Middle School, said the excitement was over whelming
and that the lure of the bicycles was an important element in more than doubling the
circulation rate at our library this semester. The Student Council liked the idea so much
that they purchased a third bike so we would have a prize for a student at each grade level.

The program is simply. A Masonic Lodge donates bikes to a school and the school sets up
and administers the program. Most schools formulate guidelines whereby a student must
read a given number of additional books to have their name entered into a drawing for the
bike. The more books a student reads the more times their name is entered in the drawing.
Students take a brief quiz on each book to ensure they have read the material. The school
and how it fits into their program determine the contest duration. One school having an
attendance problem initiated bikes for attendance program. The name of every student with
a perfect attendance record is placed into the drawing for the bicycle. This has created an
excitement to attend school, which increased the willingness and availability to learn.

In addition to these programs, the Masons of Arizona sponsor an annual Essay and ‘T’
Shirt Logo Design contest along with Outstanding Teacher of the Year and small
Classroom Grants. One of its larger programs, Children at Risk is operated under the
Arizona Masonic Foundation for Children a 501 (C, 3) Foundation which offers training in
the identification and intervention of children at risk of Alcohol, Drugs, Suicide, Gangs,
Abuse, Violence and School Dropout to school employees.

By Henry Spomer, Chairman of AZ Masons Public Schools Committee