On January 26, the first day of ‘Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida!’, Burns Middle School was awarded as being one of three winners in the district of the Superintendent’s Winter Break Reading Challenge. They earned a Reader Leader trophy, a Benny the Bean plushy from the online reading motivation platform Beanstack, and $500 for new library books.
Superintendent Van Ayres expressed gratitude for Burns Middle School’s accomplishment.
“I am incredibly proud of the students at Burns Middle School for being named a winner of the Superintendent’s Winter Break Reading Challenge. Their commitment to reading over the winter break shows a true love of learning and a dedication that extends beyond the classroom. Congratulations to these students, their families and their teachers for making literacy a priority and for representing our district so well,” Ayres said.
The other two winners of the challenge were Lincoln Elementary Magnet School and Jefferson High School.
Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida! took place from January 26-30. It is designed to raise awareness about the importance of reading and to inspire Florida’s students and families to make reading part of their daily routines.
Burns Middle School media specialist Jeanette Stratton was thrilled with the recognition for her students. Stratton is proud of her students and plans to use the $500 for popular books, like graphic novels, manga, mysteries and romance.
“I am super proud of my students for taking the time to log their reading over break, and extremely proud of the literacy teachers at Burns who have encouraged the use of Beanstack in their classrooms. Without their support, none of this would have happened,” Stratton said.
Hillsborough County Public School students logged nearly half a million minutes of reading over the winter break. Compared to the 2024-25 winter break, there was a 5 percent increase in the number of schools participating in the Winter Break Challenge, a 244 percent increase in the number of students participating in the Winter Break Challenge and a 330 percent increase in the number of minutes reading during the Winter Break Challenge.
To learn more about Beanstack, visit www.beanstack.com. Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida! is part of Just Read, Florida!, a statewide initiative. To learn more, visit www.fldoe.org/academics/standards/just-read-fl/.