The partnership started at the beginning of the pandemic to give students remote access to books and has grown to thousands of titles available for all ages.
Students at South Arbor take part in the Sora Celebration.
"The kids just want the books,” said Alexandra Brown, NHA's educational technology specialist and lead librarian. “Now they’re available to them 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
Having an online library is a big deal for students. “Only 50% of our schools have an in-school library and in the rest of our schools, students rely on a classroom library which is limited,” Brown said.
Students at South Arbor Charter Academy have been utilizing this resource, checking out an incredible 29,000 Sora eBooks – more than any other NHA school! That feat was celebrated with a party featuring fun T-shirts, buttons, and sunglasses.
Plymouth Scholars Charter Academy had its own reason to celebrate when Katie from Melissa Barman's class made the one-millionth checkout in Sora. It was a nonfiction book about the history of the chip company Frito Lay.
Plymouth Scholars celebrating the millionth checkout in Sora.
When it comes to the most popular types of books being checked out by NHA students, Brown says graphic novels reign supreme, closely followed by nonfiction and audiobooks.
It's clear that students are enjoying NHA's partnership with Sora. Keep up the reading everyone!
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About South Arbor Charter Academy
South Arbor Charter Academy is a tuition-free, public charter school in Ypsilanti, Michigan, serving students in Young 5s through eighth grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies network, which includes more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.
Visit South Arbor Charter Academy's blog to read more stories like this.