Thousands of Union County Public Schools third graders are gearing up for March Madness with “ Books and Brackets .” All 30 elementary schools will participate in a reading challenge Feb . 27 – March 31 . For five weeks , students will record the number of minutes read while at school and at home . Beginning March 10 , UCPS will announce the top schools each Friday and show how schools are moving through the bracket to the winning spot .
In partnership with United Way of Central Carolinas and Wingate University , the Books and Brackets reading challenge is one of several new strategies to focus on literacy in UCPS . During his first 90 days , Dr . Andrew Houlihan , Superintendent of Union County Public Schools , held a Listening and Learning tour across the county . One of the key trends from the sessions included improving academic programming , with a specific emphasis on literacy and equity in resource allocation .
“ We have to keep literacy at the forefront of everything we do ,” said Houlihan . “ This is a fun way to encourage reading , recognize students and connect with community partners to support literacy efforts .”
March Madness with “ Books and Brackets
Dr . Houlihan and community partners kicked off the reading challenge at Sun Valley Elementary on Feb . 23 .
Following the five-week competition , the top eight schools will be honored at Wingate University on March 31 . Students will participate in activities with the university ’ s basketball team , meet college students and tour the campus .
Big South Conference , Union Power Cooperative , Goulston Technologies , Union County Education Foundation and the Union County Public Library are also partnering with UCPS for the reading challenge . Funding from our generous partners will include resources for books and literacy materials for winning schools .
More details about the March 31 event will be released in the coming weeks .
— This article was provided by the Union County Public Schools Communications Office .
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12 • Mar / Apr 2017 • Parent Teacher Magazine