Record number of AR points earned by JCES students

Education entertainer Tommy Johns is shown with Jenkins County Elementary School kindergarten students Whitley Pye and Chase Young. (Photos contributed)

During the 2006-2007 school year, the students of Jenkins County Elementary School (JCES) earned 32,660 points in the Accelerated Reader (AR) program with a test average of 88. Not only did this surpass the school goal of 30,000, but it also set a new school record.

The Accelerated Reader program is a reading program that is designed to motivate students to read. In order to earn points, students read books that are on their reading level and take tests on the books.

At JCES, AR is used as a reading motivational tool only. The students are given individual and school goals to meet for each nine weeks and for the year. If the students meet the goal, they are rewarded in various ways throughout the year. The idea behind the program is that the more the students read, the more they love to read and their reading ability improves.

AR is working at JCES, as is evident in the rising CRCT reading scores and the number of books the students are reading. Over 60,000 books were read and tests taken by JCES students this past year.

Jenkins County Elementary School teacher Randy Dailey is shown kissing "Wilbur the pig, "as Kyle Gearhart holds the pig.

The reward the students received for reaching this great amount of points was two-fold. First, they saw Randy Dailey, behavior control room teacher, kiss a pig. Second, Tommy Johns, education entertainer, treated them to a special performance.

During a school assembly in the gymnasium on Thursday, May 24, Kyle Gearhart brought in a nine-week-old pig named Wilbur to the sound of the students chanting, "Kiss the pig." Dailey puckered up and kissed the pig not once but twice, so that all the students would have a chance to see him kiss the pig. The gym erupted in applause and laughter at the sight of seeing Dailey kiss the pig. Dailey stated that he was happy to do anything that would help encourage the students to read.

Johns, an education entertainer from the Atlanta area, performed for the students, after the pig kissing. He did the free performance after Sylvia Gay, JCES media specialist, contacted him. After he was told how many points the small school had earned, he was so impressed that he offered to come free. He stated that many of the much larger schools he served around the Atlanta area never earned anywhere near 30,000 AR points.

He performed his "I Love to Read" show that contained magic and activities centered on books. The students and staff greatly enjoyed the performance and hope to have him come back again in the future.