Four campuses have advanced to the next round in the NCAA’s Read to the Final Four® contest for Dallas Independent School District third-graders. The bracket style tournament mimics the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament schedule, with schools advancing based on how many minutes students read outside school hours.
Since November, third-graders from across the district have been counting the number of minutes they read each day. The Final Four advanced from the Elite 8 round. The schools in the Final Four are Highland Meadows Elementary, José “Joe” May Elementary, T.G. Terry Elementary, and Pleasant Grove Elementary.
The prizes provided by the NCAA and the Dallas Sports Commission for each Final Four school are:
· $1,000 for a library refresh
· $100 in school supplies for the classroom with the best student participation
· Tablet for teacher of the classroom with the best student participation
· $20 Amazon gift cards for all third-grade students
In addition, the top readers in the district will each receive a bike. Those students are from Harry Stone, Joe May, Highland Meadows and Pleasant Grove elementary schools.
At the NCAA Read to the Final Four celebration on March 1, Southern Methodist University Women’s Basketball Coach Travis Mays and Dallas Sports Commission Executive Director Monica Paul shared some encouraging words with students.
The grand prize winner will be named the NCAA Read to the Final Four Champion on Friday, March 31. That campus will receive a library makeover valued at $2,000 and the top classroom will receive a tablet, Amazon Echo speakers, and a $1000 gift card for supplies. Additionally, the teacher of the top classroom will receive a laptop or tablet.
The NCAA will also recognize Dallas ISD’s top reader. The student who read the most minutes in the program will receive two tickets to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.
