Superintendent’s book club has kids breaking reading records. How they did it
Superintendent Amy Peterman often can be found in elementary school libraries, picture book in hand, reading to classes of students.
Peterman launched the Ceres Unified School District Reads Superintendent’s Book Club last year. Her efforts to expose children to a love of reading paid off with students reading and reviewing 6,562 books so far this school year, with December’s numbers still being tallied.
The superintendent went to Caswell Elementary on Dec. 15 to read aloud “Pig the Elf,” a holiday sequel to the popular children’s book “Pig the Pug.”
“I’ve been an avid reader my whole life. … I knew that I wanted to convey to our students and help them value reading. The love of reading,” Peterman said. “I knew I wanted it to be something easy, they don’t have to pass a test. They don’t have to show evidence other than just read a book, turn in a review and get prizes.”
The CUSD Reads program lasts from October to March; last year’s total was a record 5,491 books read. The Superintendent’s Book Club asks kids to read books and write quick reviews for prizes like stickers and water bottles. The top reader at each school site also received a Kindle at the end of the program.
Last year’s CUSD Reads winner, from Caswell Elementary Dual Language Academy, was then- third-grader Gibran Rodriguez Roman.
“When they called out my name, I was surprised. I mean, I didn’t know I could do it because when I turned in my report, I think it was my last report to them, I remember other of my partners in fourth grade also started to turn in a lot of them,” Rodriguez Roman said. “But when they entered into my classroom, I remember it was in third grade, and they said ‘Gibran Rodriguez Roman,’ I was like, how did I did it?”
Rodriguez Roman, who hopes to retain his title this year, said he loves reading because it transports him into the story.
“I like reading because it’s simple. You just read and … imagine you’re in the story, imagine you’re the main character, imagine that you’re somebody,” he said. “It feels great to read because it makes you learn more, know more and also think more.”
Most elementary and middle school students in the district participate in the book club, though the competition is open to high school students as well. At Caswell, students regularly are at the library door the minute the school day is over, ready to turn in their book reviews and claim their prizes.
Caswell is an elementary school providing dual language education. And for CUSD Reads, students can read books in English and Spanish and may write their short book reviews in either language as well.
Fifth-grader Melany Alvarez was among a few students who shared their book reviews when the superintendent visited to do the holiday read-aloud. Alvarez read “Memoirs of an Elf,” which she said was worthy of 10 stars. The book is on theme for the program’s December suggestion of books on holidays and traditions.
“I like it because it’s about Christmas and my favorite holiday is Christmas because you can get a lot of presents and you can get to celebrate with family and you get to go places with your family everywhere,” Alvarez said.
Whether it’s reading to themselves, reading out loud or being read to, all of it goes toward the collective goal of reading more as a district and the individual goal of students earning prizes for their reading.
This story was originally published December 16, 2025 at 12:27 PM.
