Rochester Memorial School is taking reading out of the classroom.

Reading specialist Holly Ashley and librarian Lucille Morris want to prevent reading regression with the school’s most ambitious summer program to date.

“I’m a firm believer that kids need to have access,” said Ashley.

Morris agreed. It can be a problem if kids don’t have a supply of reading material at their level, she said.

“When they come back they’re two to three months behind,” she said. “It’s not just that they stay level, but they fall behind.”

Research shows that “if children read four to six chapter books in the summer, it completely alleviates summer reading loss regardless of race, socioeconomic background or previous achievement levels,” said Ashley.

To keep kids on track, Ashley and Morris plan to send a satchel of two to ten books home with each of the school’s 549 students. Some of those will be on loan from the school library.

“We’re really hoping to empty the shelves of the library and get those books into kids’ hands,” said Ashley.

But the pair also want kids to have some to call their own. Along with help from the Rochester PTO and private donations, Ashley received $600 worth of books through a grant.  So far the pair have collected over 400 books.

Teachers will be tasked with choosing titles for their students based on individual reading levels. But kids will also get to pick out books for themselves at an organized book swap.

Ashley said it’s important to “allow your child to have some choice in what they’re reading. It’s perfectly OK for them to be reading comic books, things that you might consider to be junk food.”

To track the effectiveness of the program, the school will test students’ reading levels before and after vacation. Kids will also keep a log of their reading habits over the summer. Once they get books home, Ashley said it’s crucial for parents to create a reading atmosphere.

“Reading to children is huge, and kids need to see grownups in the home reading,” she said.

Morris is also working to coordinate their reading initiative with Plumb Library's 10-week long summer-long program. With support from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, the Massachusetts Library System and the Boston Bruins, Plumb Library is supplying Rochester Memorial with reading logs, posters and bookmarks.

With both programs using the theme "Dream Big. Read." Morris said, “We’re going to work together to make one calender that will cover the town and the school library.”

In the meantime, Ashley and Morris still need hundreds of books to fill up those satchels. A book drive is in the works, and although there are a few details still to work out, Morris is confident the program will be a success.

“The students will get something no matter what. It can’t go wrong,” Morris said.