State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced an extension of unlimited access to myON digital books and daily news articles for students in California until Monday, Feb. 28, 2022.

A partnership with Renaissance Learning, Inc. was originally announced in December to give students from pre-K to 12th grade “The Gift of Literacy” and provide students an opportunity to engage in reading at home, at school, and in the community. The digital reading partnership is part of Superintendent Thurmond’s statewide literacy campaign to help all California students reach the goal of literacy by third grade by the year 2026.

“What began as an invitation to encourage students to read over the winter break has led to an overwhelming response, with more than two million books read so far and over 16 million minutes spent reading by students across California in just two months,” said Thurmond. “The success of this program demonstrates how access to quality literature can support literacy growth for our students, and I am excited to be able to extend this initiative for another month and continue to encourage every parent and student to take advantage of this opportunity.”

Through this initiative, students—with the support of their families and educators—can access books and news articles in English and Spanish using a special shared account on Renaissance’s myON digital reading platform. The myON platform 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.

“We are amazed and thrilled to see the students of California taking part in this program and participating at an unprecedented level,” said Chris Bauleke, CEO of Renaissance Learning. “And we’re proud to have the opportunity to inspire a lifelong love of reading through access to myON digital books and news articles for an additional month to support Superintendent Thurmond’s literacy initiative in partnership with the California Department of Education.”

School and district leaders can access information for this special, shared login on the California myON Gift of Literacy web page created for this initiative. 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.