Emma Mitchel, a 9-year-old student at Dawnville Elementary School, fills out a ballot sheet to vote on student presentations during Whitfield County Schools’ first reading summit at Cedar Ridge Elementary on Wednesday.DALTON, Ga. — Austin Brock never liked to read until he became involved in his school’s reading program this year.
“Now it’s like, wow, I can’t wait to read all these books,” Brock said Wednesday while attending Whitfield County elementary schools’ first reading summit held at Cedar Ridge. “Today is great because we learned different things about all the books we didn’t read. I really want to read them now.”
Brock, a blond, 9-year-old, fourth-grade student from Cedar Ridge Elementary, excitedly toured the tables filled with exhibits the students created about books they have read.
Seven Whitfield County elementary schools — Cedar Ridge, Cohutta, Dawnville, New Hope Elementary, Dug Gap, East Side and Varnell — participated in Wednesday’s summit, with a total of 135 students from third, fourth, and fifth grades attending.
Amy Zock, a teacher of the gifted at Cedar Ridge, said organizers hope to make the reading summit an annual event to encourage students to share ideas and discuss the books they read.