Elementary students in the Darlington County School District (DCSD) read more than 9,200 books in five weeks, as part of Darlington Raceway’s “Race Into Reading” Program.
Rosenwald Elementary/Middle School in Society Hill won the competition, averaging 12 books per student. St. John’s Elementary School came in second, averaging 4.7 books per student and West Hartsville Elementary came in third, averaging 3.9 books per student.
Designed as a way to celebrate “March is Reading Month” and to get children excited about reading, the “Race Into Reading” program challenged first through fifth graders across the county to read as many books as possible.
The students from the top three reading schools received a visit from NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Parker Kligerman, driver of the No. 77 Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports, and the Nationwide Series showcar today as part of their reward for reading the most books.
The program kicked off on March 1 with all Darlington County School District elementary students receiving a Darlington Raceway bookmark, reading reminder bracelet, and a youth admission ticket to Nationwide Series VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 on Friday, May 10.
“I am extremely proud of our students for taking their reading so seriously. When given the challenge of the Race Into Reading Contest they really stepped up,” said Kim Mason, principal of Rosenwald Elementary/Middle School. “I am grateful for the partnership between our school district and Darlington Raceway for the contest and the incredible incentives to get our students reading. Meeting Parker and standing on the start/finish line of the “The Lady in Black” will be a lasting memory for our Rosenwald Eagles.”
“We were blown away by the amount of books the students read as part of our Race into Reading program we introduced to the district this year,” Darlington Raceway President Chris Browning said. “It’s our goal to utilize the track in more ways like this to provide a positive impact on our local community and its school students. It’s nice to see the students truly embrace the program this year and hopefully we’ll continue to grow the program and make it even better in 2014.”
The Reading Program is just one of many that the track has created over the years as part of its youth initiatives. It also offers one of the best kids ticket offers in the industry with 12 and under half-price for any seat to the Bojangles’ Southern 500.
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