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On Monday students at Mountain Home Public Schools began a reading challenge titled “23 in 23.” During this challenge which lasts until March 17, students in grades K-2 will read at least 23 new books and students in grades 3-12 will read for at least 23 minutes on 23 separate occasions.
According to the district’s Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Allyson Dewey, the district’s school board members promoted the idea of this initiative. “Our Board of Education understands not only the importance of explicit reading instruction in our classrooms, but they want our students to develop a life-long love of reading,” she said. “The ‘23 in 23’ initiative encourages students to develop that love for reading.”
Students will be asked to log their reading and have an adult document that it was completed. Those students who complete the challenge will be presented with an incentive in the form of a pizza party provided by The Dels Corp. of Mountain Home.
Mark Bertel, owner of The Dels Corp., said he is honored to provide the incentive for this challenge. “If one student develops a love of reading because of this challenge, then it will be worth having provided pizza to every student who completes it,” he said. “Being able to fluently read opens so many doors to people, and I am really excited to be a part of a program that encourages students in this way.”
In addition to a community member providing the incentive, Dewey said the district is asking for the rest of the community to support the initiative as well. “We want everyone who can, to drop what they’re doing and read for 23 minutes on Monday, January 23 from 8 to 8:23 in the morning,” she said. “Our students and staff will all be reading at this time as well. And we would love it if you’d take a selfie while reading to post on the district’s Facebook page as a comment under the ‘23 in 23’ pinned post at the top of the page.”
