11 new features and updates to increase reading at your school this year
Back-to-school season is here! We’re excited to unpack all the new Beanstack features to support you and your teaching team in creating a culture of reading for your students this school year.
1. Enhanced accountability with reading validation challenges
Note: Starting in the 2025-2026 school year, reading validation challenges will no longer be available. It has been replaced with Benny-enabled challenges via Book Talks with Benny, which you can learn more about here.
Reading validation challenges use simple comprehension questions to verify that students did their logged reading, while still feeding their foundational love of reading.
2. Promote ebooks and other reading resources within reading list challenges
Reading list challenges, which track reading for specific lists of titles, are better than ever with the new ability to add custom links to individual titles so that students can connect to your catalog and e-resources.
3. Curated ebooks accessible directly in reading challenges
Our new ebook challenge store offers ebook collections on captivating themes like space exploration, science inventions, animals, and Earth’s habitats. Each challenge includes perpetual simultaneous use licenses for three high-interest books that your students can read through Beanstack anytime and anywhere. Learn more here!
4. Absorbing new Short Stacks content challenges and teaching materials
Note: As of mid-2025, short stacks challenges and materials are no longer be available.
Geared for readers in grades 3–5, our four new original content challenges each include 12 or 13 Short Stacks—short and snappy nonfiction stories on compelling and curriculum-aligned topics—and easy-to-use teaching materials to keep students reading and logging all year long.
5. Easier insight into student, class, and grade rankings with leaderboards
Your site’s new leaderboard displays the classrooms, grades, and students that are reading the most, making it a snap to run reading competitions and reinforce healthy reading habits. Check out your school’s stats under Insights > Leaderboard or read more here!
6. Smooth and secure single sign-on in the mobile app
Students can now seamlessly use their Clever, Classlink, or Google single sign-on to log in on the Beanstack mobile app and get reading from wherever they are! Download the app here to check out your school’s login flow.
7. Streamlined drawings setup for more straightforward prizewinner selection
Your drawings dashboard got a facelift! You can now use a more intuitive drawing setup process, easily tell when drawings have or haven’t had winners selected, and archive drawings to de-clutter your dashboard. Level up your prize drawing and raffle know-how with this video or article!
8. Improved student and staff reading fundraiser experience
Reading fundraisers give you a new and easier way to raise more money for your school—all through reading! We added new functionality like clearer individual donation page links to make the experience of reading and raising even easier. Learn more about fundraisers here!
9. Easier account linking process between library and school sites
We work with thousands of public libraries as well as schools, so when your local public library also uses Beanstack, you can join forces and create a holistic reading experience for your students. Our refreshed tandem connection process guides readers through the easy steps of linking their library and school accounts so they can count all their reading on both sites. Read more about tandems here!
10. Fresh and engaging challenges every month
Our challenge template calendar gives you multiple ready-made challenge options for every month of the school year. From Back to School and National Pizza Month to Black History Month and Idita-Read, check out all our offerings here.
11. Streamlined subject imports to your site
Classroom reports are smoother and easier to use! We revamped our data integrations to import all teachers, students, homeroom/advisory classes, and English Language Arts classes, without bogging down your reports with unused section information. Learn more about what rostering information we import here.
And we’re not done! Keep an eye out for bingo reading challenges and other slick new features and improvements this fall and beyond here or subscribe for our weekly updates. Get in touch with your client success manager at schoolsuccess@zoobean.com with any questions or suggestions!