SPI Announces New Digital Reading Partnership

California Department of Education
News Release

California Department of Education
News Release

Release: #21-96
November 30, 2021

Contact: Communications
E-mail: communications@cde.ca.gov
Phone: 916-319-0818

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today announced a partnership with Renaissance that will provide unlimited access to myON digital books and daily news articles for all pre-K to grade twelve students in California from December 1, 2021, through January 31, 2022.

This initiative aims to give students The Gift of Literacy during the winter break by providing opportunities to engage in reading at home, at school, and in the community and is part of the Superintendent Thurmond’s statewide literacy campaign to help all California students reach the goal of literacy by third grade, by the year 2026.

“I encourage every parent and student to use this free service to continue to read over the holidays,” said Superintendent Thurmond. “This is a great opportunity for our families to share the joy of reading and establish routines that support literacy growth for our students.” Literacy is a key benchmark in measuring and predicting student success, which is why Superintendent Thurmond is taking bold action to help students meet this important milestone. “We hope that free access to thousands of digital books will create and cultivate a lifelong love of reading that can continue to be nurtured by our school and local libraries,” Superintendent Thurmond said.

Through this initiative, students—with the support of their families and educators—will access books and news articles in English and Spanish using a special shared account on Renaissance’s myON digital reading platform. myON is compatible with computers, Chromebooks, and tablets, and low-bandwidth and offline reading options provide expanded opportunities to access reading materials. All myON books and news articles include natural-voice audio narration, which is particularly helpful for younger learners and encourages read-alouds and read-alongs outside of school.

This initiative is intended to support California schools and districts that are not currently using myON with their students. School and district leaders can access information for this special, shared login on a new web page created for this initiative . They will also find a number of helpful resources to help them launch this initiative with students, staff, and families, including an overview of myON, tips for getting started, family reading activities, and short video walk-throughs.

The myON personalized literacy solution is currently used in hundreds of California schools. Students in these schools and districts who have their own personalized logins should continue using them to access myON and take advantage of the enhanced personalization.

“We are excited to support Superintendent Thurmond’s bold vision of literacy and access to books for every student in California,” said Chris Bauleke, CEO of Renaissance. “This partnership provides access to myON digital books and news articles through the end of January and reinforces Renaissance’s mission to accelerate learning for all children, in partnership with the California Department of Education.”

As part of his literacy effort to ensure students can read by third grade by 2026, State Superintendent Thurmond is working to expand the use of California libraries by pledging to help 100,000 students get their first library cards by 2026 and working to secure and provide one million books to students and families in need. He will also embark on a library tour, host events, and organize to help California students—especially students in low-income communities—gain access to libraries.

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Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

Last Reviewed: Tuesday, November 30, 2021