Over 800 Maine students complete Read to Ride Summer Reading Challenge

Preventing summer reading slide is a goal of many Maine educators. Students can lose months of learning gains if their brains do not remain active. During the summer of 2017, the Maine Department of Education partnered with the Freemasons of Maine to sponsor the Read to Ride Summer Reading Challenge.  Over 800 students in over 60 schools across Maine completed the challenge of reading at least 500 minutes during summer vacation—that is 400,000 minutes of reading!  The Freemasons graciously donated 48 bikes and helmets which were awarded to state level contest winners.

School principals noted that the Read to Ride Challenge was motivating and helped accomplish the goal of keeping students actively engaged in learning throughout the summer months.  Schools were also able to coordinate this opportunity with other summer literacy initiatives going on in their schools and in public libraries.  For additional information, contact Lee Anne Larsen, Literacy Specialist at leeann.larsen@maine.gov.