Columbus Christian School recently celebrated its fourth place finish in the “Final Four” of a statewide reading competition with a party for students and families.
On Tuesday morning, the school was treated to a celebration to commemorate third grade readers’ fourth place finish in the Read to the Final Four competition. The other winners were Pine Village in first, Greenwood Christian in second and Brooklyn Elementary in third, according to a press release from Indiana Sports Corp.
Columbus Christian posted on social media that its students read for more than 28,000 minutes during the competition.
The four schools are being treated to celebrations at their schools in late March and early April. Also, in addition to being awarded $1,000 for a “library refresh” as part of the Elite Eight, each of the third-grade teachers from the Final Four schools will receive $500 for a library refresh in their own classroom.
According to the competition website, students at competing schools also won other prizes as they advanced through the rounds.
In addition, one third grade student from each of the four regions has been named “top reader” and will receive a new bike and helmet.
In a livestream of the celebration, Columbus Christian announced that its top reader was Luke Edwards, who read 9,255 minutes, or just over 154 hours.
Read to the Final Four launched in October of 2020 with 300 elementary schools across Indiana. It is a literacy program for third graders put on by the NCAA, Indiana Sports Corp. and local organizers. The reading program this year was financed by the Indy Championships Fund.
In January, the competition was narrowed to 68 schools, which formed a bracket. Schools then worked to advance based on points awarded. The competition takes into consideration minutes read and school enrollment.
“Congratulations to each of these schools and the students who have worked so hard during Read to the Final Four,” said JoAn Scott, NCAA managing director of men’s basketball, in an official statement. “We value the opportunity to take the excitement of college basketball and extend it to classrooms across the state. From the basketball court to the bookshelf, it’s another example of bringing March Madness to the communities of Indiana.”
