By Ryan Lewis
Correspondent
SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. — Sometimes betting against kids can put you in places you don’t want to go.
In the case of South Pittsburg High School and Academy principal Allen Pratt, that place was the school’s roof.
Middle school students at South Pittsburg Academy are required to obtain a set number of Accelerated Reader points by the end of each nine-week grading period. The points come from reading books and taking computerized tests on them.
After the first nine weeks of the school year, most of the middle school students hadn’t completed the assignment, and reading teacher Jennifer Cardin knew something had to be done to challenge them.
She asked if Mr. Pratt and assistant principals Vic Grider and Danny Wilson would agree to an unconventional wager with their students.
“Mr. Pratt volunteered to camp out on the roof of the auditorium if the kids could reach a big goal,” she said. “He set the goal at 7,000 total points, which was 1,000 points over what I told him was probably unattainable.”
By the end of April, the students had reached their goal and actually finished with more than 8,000 points.
“It was incredible,” Mr. Pratt said. “I’d hear kids talking about reading their books over the weekends, over spring break and over Christmas break. I was really excited that they had all taken the challenge so seriously.”
“I was so proud and excited for them,” Mrs. Cardin said. “The students’ point totals tripled each nine weeks after that. Students that didn’t like to read did it anyway. It became a competition for all of them.”
Some students who never had obtained points before had more than 100 this year, Mrs. Cardin said.
Even though seventh-grader Shelby Allison loves to read, she said her point totals increased, too.
“There were times that I didn’t think we were going to make it,” she said. “We tried to outscore each other because we wanted to see them on that roof.”
On May 19, the kids got what they wanted.
“It was cold,” Mr. Pratt said. “People came by all night long to say ‘hi’ or maybe just to keep us awake. They brought us food, and the police came by several times to check on us. It was really great, and it was definitely worth it.”
Mr. Pratt said the deal now will become a tradition and a new challenge for the middle school students each year.
Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryan lewis34@gmail.com.