After Estes Elementary students logged more than 400,000 minutes of reading this school year, Assistant Principal Katy Harris kept a promise that had her spending the night on the school’s roof.
The rooftop sleepover was the 19th milestone in the school’s yearlong reading challenge, which rewards students for every 20,000 minutes they collectively read outside of school.
“We challenge all of our kids to read 100 minutes a week at home — 20 minutes a night — and they turn in a form each Monday,” Harris said. “Even if they only read a little, it still counts toward the total. This year they blew past last year’s numbers, and we just had to celebrate in a big way.”
Last year, students didn’t reach 300,000 minutes. This year, with about 120 students regularly turning in their reading logs, they surged past 400,000.
While Harris was the one who ended up on the roof, she said it wasn’t entirely by choice.
“My principal is scared of the dark,” she joked. “At a Friday morning assembly, he threw me under the bus. But when we hit 400,000, I got him back — he became a human pizza during an assembly this past Friday.”
Despite the exhaustion, Harris said it was all worth it.
“These kids are the reason I do the things,” she said. “At 7:30 on a Monday morning, seeing their faces made it all worthwhile.”
The Estes Bulldogs’ reading initiative is about more than rewards — it’s about fostering lifelong habits.
“Reading is in every part of life,” Harris said. “Whether it’s reading to your own kids someday, learning something new for work, or just staying informed, we want students to see that it’s not just something they have to do — it can be fun, too.”
Harris added that making school a joyful place is just as important as academics.
“If you’re not having fun, this can be a hard place to come to. That’s why we go above and beyond — even if that means sleeping on a roof,” she said.
