WEST DECATUR – Central Intermediate Unit # 10 is making plans for the eleventh annual Elementary Interscholastic Reading Competition, scheduled for March 27. Bellefonte Area High School will host the event, a scholastic quiz competition open to teams of fourth, fifth and sixth graders in the CIU # 10 service area which covers Clearfield, Centre and Clinton Counties. Public, nonpublic, and charter schools are all eligible to participate.
According to Mary Ann Wigfield, competition coordinator, the Intermediate Unit anticipates over 40 teams to participate this year. Teams are comprised of anywhere from eight to 14 students. The event has doubled in size since its inception in 2000.
“We are expecting somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 readers to compete this year,” stated Wigfield.
The reading list for the competition includes 40 titles and is distributed before the end of each school year. This allows students to begin reading the books over the summer months, which encourages reading twelve months a year. In addition to sharpening their literacy abilities, students who participate gain teamwork, leadership, and sportsmanship skills by working as a group towards a common goal.
For the second year, the Bellefonte High School will host the event, but other districts are encouraged to rotate the responsibility.
According to Wigfield, “The honor of hosting has fallen on the larger school districts because we need a gymnasium that can accommodate the crowd of around 500 students plus spectators. It’s just wonderful to see a high school gymnasium fully populated for an elementary academic competition!”
Teams are randomly paired to square off in three rounds of prescheduled competition. Volunteer parents and teachers moderate the rounds and keep score. Teachers serve as team coaches. All student competitors are awarded participation ribbons and certificates. Round winner teams are awarded ribbons. The cumulative totals for the three rounds determine the winners, and teams who score 50 cumulative points and above are recognized in the awards ceremony and win trophies.
“This program has been a great collaborative effort between Central Intermediate Unit # 10 and its constituent schools,” Wigfield noted. “We are delighted to continue providing this learning opportunity for the elementary students in the schools we serve.”