Three Rye-area schools are overhauling their English programs as educators confront a basic problem: students are losing the stamina to finish a book.

At Rye Neck Senior High School, students in grades six through 12 still read four to six full books a year.

At Rye Country Day School, the English department replaced AP English with an honors seminar model offering courses like Asian American Literature and Queer Literature.

And at Rye High School, a new International Baccalaureate Language and Literature class joins the schedule for fall 2026 as one of 12 new IB courses.

The three approaches, reported by the Rye Record on Monday, Sept. 7, reflect a shared concern backed by hard numbers.

A University College London and University of Florida study published in the journal iScience in August 2025 found that only 16 percent of Americans read for pleasure on an average day in 2023. That figure was 28 percent in 2004. A New York Times report in December 2025 found some high school classrooms assign as few as two full books a year.

"Kids just don't read as much," said Kara Slattery, English department chairwoman at Rye Neck. "I see more of a struggle to focus and trouble completing a task from start to finish."

Slattery said Rye Neck has not cut its book count. Students still tackle titles like "Almond" by Sohn Won-pyung, "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom and "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri alongside Shakespeare and "The Great Gatsby." Teachers do assign excerpts for close analysis, she said, but full texts remain the backbone.

George Krajca, who has taught English at Rye High School for 27 years, compared reading to nutrition and exercise. He said students need consistent practice to build stamina, especially when screens compete for their attention.

Rice Johnson, a rising junior at Rye High, said his sophomore class read three or four full books but was assigned only one chapter of "The Odyssey" instead of the full epic.

Rye Country Day took the boldest step. Tatum Bell, the school's Upper School English department chairwoman, said the shift from AP English to honors seminars gives students more choice.

The new menu includes courses on NYC literature, Latino literature, Black magical realism, sports, food and satire. Bell said students who still opt to take AP exams have scored the same or better since the change.

"When students have agency, they're more invested and engaged," Bell said.

Both Rye Country Day and Rye Neck are also launching a student-driven yearlong literary research class. A Rye Neck pilot drew praise from principal Melinda Folchetti, a former English teacher, after one student built a project analyzing film adaptations of Shakespeare.

Looking ahead, Rye Country Day plans to add more interdisciplinary courses such as playwriting beyond its core graduation requirements. Rye Neck hopes to expand its elective offerings beyond creative writing, journalism and cinema.