Books and basketball form a winning duo
BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer

JACKSON - Aiming to motivate good reading habits, Johnson School staff offered a game of basketball to pupils who read loads of books. The more books read, the better the chance of being on the team.

"The build-up to this event was incredible," said Johnson School Principal Daniel Baginski. "Students were reading books feverishly to get another shot at being a part of the night."

For each book they read during March, students put a ticket into a raffle to be chosen for a spot on a student and faculty basketball team. The teams then competed in a basketball game on March 29 at Jackson Liberty High School that was attended by more than 1,000 people.

Using the inspiration of "March Madness" from the NCAA basketball tournament that takes place in March seemed to resonate with the students, Baginski said.

"We all had a lot of fun with the game, of course, but in the end we were all excited that it got kids reading," he said. "Students are walking around talking about how next year they are going to read even more books. It's great to see them so excited about reading."

The teachers were equally invested in the challenge, participating on the playing teams and practicing a halftime show before and after school.

"Just about every staff member was involved directly on that night, and I'm so proud to work with such collaborative people," Baginski said. "It was a tremendous bonding experience for the entire staff, who loved the chance to come together for something [that was] fun and very meaningful."

Johnson School media assistant Karen Farrell, who helped plan the event with media specialist Carrie Hogan, said the event went a long way toward inspiring children to read, especially when reading competes with computers, television and video games for a child's free time.

"When Carrie Hogan and I were focusing on this Read Across America incentive, we knew it had to be different, motivating and have mass appeal," Farrell said. "Thanks to the NCAA, 'March Madness' sells itself during February and March. All we had to do is put the Johnson twist on it."

The end result, Farrell said, was that students picked up books a bit more than they normally would have.

"In the process of reading so much, they may have introduced themselves to an author or a subject that they otherwise may have never met," she said. "What's not to love about that?"