At Farmington High School, big changes have arrived. Beanstack has replaced Reading Counts. Beanstack is a program that records and logs the amount of time that students read books.
Kristi Scott, FHS’ library media specialist, explained the transition.
“The company that sold Reading Counts has shifted its focus from quiz-based programs to district assessments,” she said. “We didn’t have a choice; Reading Counts became unavailable to our district for the 2024-2025 school year.”
According to Scott, Beanstack offers several advantages over Reading Counts.
“Beanstack provides flexibility in tracking reading, emphasizes reading habits rather than just comprehension, features customizable challenges, and utilizes modern technology and accessibility options,” she said. “The librarian at Washington Franklin piloted the Beanstack program with her students last year and had success. After speaking with our administrators and ELA teachers, we decided to try Beanstack at FHS. Beanstack has become a K-12 Reading Initiative in the 2024-2025 school year.”
However, Beanstack is new, and students have expressed their discontent with the program.
“I hate Beanstack,” said one student who requested anonymity to avoid causing controversy. “It’s annoying to have to log all of your minutes to complete challenges, which my teacher assigns as a grade at the end of the month. I play a sport, so I barely have time to read outside class.”
According to Scott, “The transition from Reading Counts to Beanstack has been great. At FHS, 61% of our students have utilized Beanstack and collectively we have logged 415,846 minutes. Our FHS goal is 500,000 minutes.”
Students can access Beanstack by visiting the Farmington School District website at fsdknights.com, clicking the Student Resources button, selecting Clever, and signing in with their Google account. Once logged in, they should scroll down to find Beanstack, click on “Log Reading,” and complete the form. At the end of their senior year, the student with the most minutes logged on Beanstack will receive a $1,000 scholarship.
