By Felix Lloyd
Across the nation, educators are facing a growing crisis of chronic absenteeism. And while interventions often focus on remediation or outreach, one Title I school in Kentucky tried a different solution—running school-wide reading challenges.
At Clearfield Elementary in Rowan County, KY, chronic absenteeism had climbed to 33.7%, with many students facing economic challenges, unstable housing, and other barriers to consistent attendance. Instead of approaching this problem with punitive measures or attendance contracts, two key educators—library media specialist Jessica Stepp and STLP coach and Title I teacher Maria White—set out to find a solution. They aimed to reignite student motivation in a way that would draw kids back to school every day: through reading.
The Challenge: Sparking Joy in a Difficult Climate
Like many schools across the country, Clearfield Elementary saw a sharp decline in student engagement and a troubling rise in absenteeism after the pandemic. With more than 80% of students qualifying for economic support, the barriers to consistent attendance and sustained literacy growth were pronounced. Students were missing school, and many weren’t connecting with reading meaningfully when they did attend.
Recognizing this shift, Stepp and White launched a school-wide effort to re-engage students, reignite a love for reading, and rebuild community. Their approach centered on collaboration between educators, families, and community partners, and brought in Beanstack, a digital platform that motivates students to log reading, earn badges, and celebrate achievements.
What started as a literacy initiative quickly became a catalyst for improved attendance and a renewed school culture.
The Strategy: Create Community Around Reading
The Clearfield team began by engaging staff. Teachers were invited to participate in a low-pressure, Taylor Swift–themed reading challenge (“In My Reading Era”) complete with Starbucks gift card raffles. The goal? To get teachers excited and comfortable using the platform before introducing it to students.
Then came the student launch. For younger kids, the focus was simple exposure and excitement. And for upper grades, Stepp led hands-on tutorials, teaching students to log minutes, scan book barcodes, and (perhaps most motivating) follow their friends’ reading progress. This peer visibility created a ripple effect. Students wanted to read more because their classmates were doing it too.
Reading became a school-wide obsession. Monthly themed challenges, hallway leaderboards, and public shoutouts on the intercom helped embed reading into daily life. A once-skeptical group of students now rushed to the library after snow days to see if they had claimed a top spot on the leaderboard.
The Innovation: Linking Reading to Attendance
One of the most innovative aspects of Clearfield’s approach was the intentional linkage between reading and attendance.
With support from local partners, the school acquired a book vending machine filled with brand-new books. The goal was to reward reading with more reading. Students could earn tokens for completing reading challenges, displaying positive behavior, and attending school.
To underscore the celebratory aspect of rewarding reading, the vending machine ribbon-cutting was treated like a major school event, with elected officials, media, and excited students celebrating the power of literacy in action.
The message was clear: at Clearfield, reading matters, and so does showing up.
The Results: A Culture Transformed
Within one week of launching Beanstack school-wide, 75% of students were logging their reading. By week two, they’d logged over 100,000 minutes. The school earned Beanstack’s Reading Culture Trailblazer status, and circulation in the library surged as students asked for books aligned with their interests.
And most notably? Chronic absenteeism dropped by 8.6% in a single school year.
Students like fourth grader Lily summed up the change: “In 3rd grade, I didn’t like reading, but I do now that we have Beanstack. It’s addicting to log minutes and see how much I’ve read.”
The Lessons: What Other Schools Can Learn
Clearfield’s success wasn’t accidental. It was intentional, strategic, and deeply collaborative. Here’s what other schools can take away:
- Start with your staff. Teacher buy-in was critical. When educators modeled excitement for reading, students followed.
- Consistency builds culture. Beanstack wasn’t a one-time event; it was woven into everyday classroom routines and library visits.
- Leverage both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Some students respond to badges and achieving personal goals; others need a book token or a class competition to spark their drive.
- Make family and community part of the plan. Parents received guides, watched videos, and followed social media updates. Community partners made big ideas—like the book vending machine—possible.
Final Word: Literacy as a Lever for Belonging
In a time when schools are seeking every possible strategy to re-engage students, Clearfield Elementary offers a powerful reminder: when we make reading joyful, visible, and meaningful, we don’t just improve literacy—we create a reason for students to walk through the doors each morning.
For librarians and teachers looking to reduce absenteeism, collaboration and creativity may just be the secret sauce. After all, a good book can transport a student anywhere, and sometimes, it’s what brings them right back to school.
Felix Lloyd, a former Washington, DC, Teacher of the Year and Dean of Students at SEED Public Charter School, co-founded Beanstack and secured an investment from Mark Cuban on ABC’s Shark Tank in 2014.
