How far would you go to encourage students in their independent reading efforts? Would you jump out of a plane? Spend the night on your school’s roof?

If your answer is “yes!”, chances are you’re an educator at Sullivan Elementary School (SES) in Sullivan, MO.

Just over a year ago, Principal Gary Elder and Assistant Principal Mike Mabe presented their students with a challenge – if 95 percent of the 600 2nd to 5th grade students each earned 50 in SES’s Scholastic Reading Counts! program, they promised to spend the night on the school roof! This past June, after students worked all year to reach the goal, they made good on their promise.

School librarian and Scholastic Reading Counts! program administrator Marsha Johanning explained that students were thrilled to take part in the event, where they enjoyed bedtime story readings by the principal and assistant principal, and free popcorn (thanks to Ms. Johanning’s enlistment of donations from local businesses).

According to Ms. Johanning, each year SES establishes a school-wide point goal and incentive. She introduces SRC! to students at the beginning of the year, along with quarterly point goals and incentives at the start of each quarter to keep students excited about their reading. Students earn points when they complete a book and pass its quiz.

SES has implemented some truly fantastic student challenges over the years. In addition to sleeping on the roof, in years past, Principal Edler has also agreed to parachute from a plane, and be dunked in a dunking machine. Quarterly rewards have been great as well – bingo with Ms. Johanning in the library, ice cream sundaes, and Christmas cookie decorating are among them.

Ms. Johanning acknowledged that while students like the rewards, “it gives them a great confidence to see they have passed a quiz. They love that sense of accomplishment and the acknowledgement of a job well done." Proof of this lies in the fact that while 99% percent of students met the 50-point goal this past year, 57% doubled that goal and reached 100 points!

Congratulations to SES’s educators and students for building such a successful and popular SRC! program.

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