CAPE CORAL, Fla. – The staff at a Cape Coral elementary school made a reading bet with their students, they were happy to lose.
On Friday, the principal and vice principal of Hector Cafferata Jr. Elementary school woke up on the roof of their school.
The administrators made a deal with their students to read more than 30 million words this semester and the children kept their part of the bargain.
Val Esquitin, a parent of a second grader at the school, said she noticed major improvements in her son’s grades since the challenge began.
“I don’t even have to ask him to read more. He just does it by himself so I’m like *crosses fingers*,” said Esquitin.
She said the challenge even prompted her to start reading books again.
“We got a library card so I was like why not let me grab a book,” said Esquitin.
The principal said they wanted to challenge their students to read more, so they asked teachers to give less homework and more time to meet reading goals.
The first semester, the students read 24 million words. This semester they exceeded the goal of 30 million.
“They go into a program and take that assessment test. Depending on their score depends on how many words count for that book. If they get 100 percent they 100 percent of the words for that book if they get 90 percent then 90 percent of the book,” said Vice-principal, Michael Licata.
To celebrate, the staff invited students and parents to celebrate outside the school on Thursday night.
The administrators said they would be working in their pajamas on Friday.