Great Books K-12 Success Stories

Copperfield Elementary School, Austin, Texas

In fall 2006, all the third through fifth grade teachers at Copperfield Elementary School completed our introductory professional development course so they could begin leading Great Books discussion in their classrooms. Copperfield’s thorough plan for implementing Great Books included providing classroom sets of materials for all their teachers, as well as follow-up professional development. In addition, Copperfield planned for regularly scheduled classroom coaching by a Great Books staff instructor. 

A neighborhood school with a large Latino population, Copperfield has watched as students enthusiastically participate in the program and improve their test scores. Teachers are enjoying Great Books so much that they consistently include schoolwide Great Books “Discussion Days” in their language arts curriculum. See a video of Copperfield’s Discussion Day. 

“Great Books has definitely met my expectations . . . and more. We have students excited to really be able to show their thoughts and ideas. . . . I tell principals that it’s a fantastic program—it’s really good for teachers, it’s good for kids, it’s good for the school.”—Dr. Sandra Bell, Copperfield Elementary School, Austin, Texas

Now entering its fourth year using Great Books, Copperfield has expanded its program to include second grade. The school also has several bilingual teachers leading discussions as a dual language activity in English and Spanish. Last spring, Nyssa Arcos, a fifth-grade bilingual teacher, received a Great Books Great Teachers award from the Foundation.

Students say they enjoy Great Books because it gives them the freedom of being able to express themselves without waiting to be called on. “That’s what I really think is good about Junior Great Books, because everybody gets to interact with each other, everybody actually gets to talk to each other without getting in trouble . . . because everybody gets to say what they feel,” said one fifth-grader. “Since you have different opinions and they can all be right in their own ways, you all have to find something from the story and put all your evidence together to get a conclusion,” said another student. 

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