SANPETE COUNTY, Utah — Road to Success is a program that encourages kids to learn outside the classroom, by helping kids see the fun in reading by offering incentives. Children from five different schools were recognized Thursday for reading every day.
“I read every single day,” said Addyson Allred, a kindergartener at Fountain Green Elementary School.
Road to Success works to get kids excited about reading at a young age.
“I love reading because of all the different stories,” Allred said.
Addyson Allred is just one of several students who was being recognized Thursday for going above and beyond her reading goals.
“I think it’s a way of showing students that reading has its rewards. And so, of course you read a great book and you get excited about it and that’s fun, but here you can earn prizes too,” said Lucy Andre, Success in Education Foundation Manager.
Five schools in the Sanpete area received $500 for new books Thursday. Educators said because more children are reading, test scores are on the rise.
“I think they’re noticing too that they have a larger vocabulary and are learning more, and they can talk to you about things,” said Karen Soper, Principal at Manti Elementary School.
And if you don’t believe the principal, just listen to second grader Jackson Dahl.
“It helps me learn more and some books are really good books. They can teach you and some books are fantasy books, and I like the fantasy books because they entertain me,” Jackson Dahl, a second grade student at Spring City Elementary School said.
Reading 20 minutes a day is already a requirement for most schools. Road to Success lets children track their own progress online and then gives away a thousand grand prizes, like a new bike or an iPod, to students who read.
“I think it helps them understand, ‘Hey, I can do this. I can set a goal. I can reach it. I can go to college. I can get a good job.’ It’s fun. It’s a fun way to entice them,” Soper said.
