Last year, we kicked off Read Across America Month by launching a new initiative, the Reading Culture Trailblazer award. As a reading motivation platform, we’ve learned through data that competition, goal setting, and incentives and recognition motivate students to read more. With the Reading Culture Awards, we bring that same energy and evidence-based strategies to our school communities. The Reading Culture Awards are our way of celebrating your hard work—and helping you fuel even more momentum along the way.
The 2025-2026 Beanstack Reading Culture Awards
Back for a second year, we’re changing things up for the Reading Culture Award program. We will continue to recognize and reward schools for increasing student engagement throughout the year, but we’ve added a new milestone and are taking a new approach to the Trailblazer status reward.
Here’s how your school can earn recognition this year:
- New! Spark status: 10% student participation. You’ve sparked something special—your reading culture is on the rise!
- Igniter status: 25% participation. You’ve lit a fire. Each school that reaches this milestone receives a $25 gift card to keep the momentum going.
- Pathfinder status: 50% participation. Your school is well on its way to building a strong reading culture. You’re almost there!
- Trailblazer status: 75% participation. You’ve created a culture of reading worth celebrating. You’ll be entered into our monthly prize drawing!
🌟 New This Year: Monthly Trailblazer Drawing
From August through June, all schools that reach Trailblazer status and those that maintain 75% student participation will be automatically entered into a monthly prize drawing. Each month, we’ll award:
- 10 schools with $100 gift cards
- 1 grand prize winner with $1,000 and 50 Benny plushies to help your community celebrate in style.
Whether you just hit the milestone or are holding strong, Trailblazers with 75% or more participation each month will stay in the pool for the drawing until they win a prize.
The positive benefits of reading are clear, and our data backs it up. Schools that set community reading goals log 105% more minutes than those that don’t. Whether you focus on improving standardized test scores, building independent reading habits, or just making reading more fun, the Beanstack Reading Culture Awards help your whole community read all year long.
Ready to ignite a love for reading at your school? Contact Beanstack today to see how we can help nurture a vibrant reading culture in your community.