Of all the classroom enhancement grants the Foundation funds in our elementary schools, March Book Madness might just be the most popular.
Since 2017, the Foundation has been funding March Book Madness, a fun annual competition in which elementary school students root for their favorite books. Kids enjoy March Book Madness as much as the most diehard basketball fan trying to create the perfect NCAA bracket.
This year, in addition to the brackets posted in each school, Elementary Library Coordinator Sarah Webber added a “Wall of Fame” to recognize students who were reading the most books.
“The Wall of Fame has been a game changer,” Webber says. “It’s been really interesting to see students who aren’t normally avid readers get into it because of the Wall of Fame. It got them started as readers and now they’re coming to me for recommendations. They’ve discovered that reading is interesting, and now they’re putting holds on books they want to read.”
Because the national March Book Madness competition has grown so much, Webber made another change to her request from the Foundation this year. “Some of our authors who we’ve had here for author visits, like Jason Chin and Christine Soontornvat, were surprised to see that their books that were in March Book Madness were selling out,” she says. “So this spring, we asked the Foundation for money for next year’s March Book Madness so we can be ready to order our books as soon as the list comes out.”
As March Book Madness continues to grow, Webber is very appreciative of the Foundation’s support. “Our students get so excited about March Book Madness,” she says. “All day long I see and hear kids–from kindergarten through fifth grade–checking the brackets and talking about their favorite books. Thank you to the Foundation for getting our students so excited about reading!”
