In a countrywide program to excite children about reading, Koenig Elementary School in Two Rivers is one of two schools to receive the national award for the Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) program.

On June 3, Koenig received the Margaret McNamara Readers Cup named in honor of the founder of RIF, $2,000 gift cards to buy books, medals for each child who participated, a national champion banner, and a celebration at the school that included a picnic lunch, highlights video, songs, guest speakers, sundaes, and a visit from Snoopy.

Founded in 1996, Reading Is Fundamental, Inc. (RIF) is a non-profit organization that inspires children to read, and works with parents and community members to make reading a part of everyday life. Three elements are a part of all RIF programs: reading motivation, family and community involvement, and the excitement of choosing free books to keep.

All 265 Koenig students participated in the two-week program, "Reading Rocks," in February. The program encouraged students to read for 20 minutes each night. The school offered awards like riding to school in a PT Cruiser, throwing pies at teachers, and giving a teacher a Mohawk haircut. The campaign called for local businesses, police department, fire department, college athletes, and parents to participate by reading with the children. The school surpassed the goal of reading 52,000 minutes in the two weeks and reached 80,560 minutes.

Koenig Elementary School won the same award in 2004. Principal Lisa Quistorf said setting a two-year goal helped tremendously in motivating the kids to read. The ultimate goal of Koenig's participation was to make reading a fun part of everyday life, she said.

Quistorf said the teachers and staff worked together as a cohesive group to involve the community and get the children excited about the program. Community involvement is essential to motivate kids because "when they believe they can be good readers, they become good readers," she said.

She also said positive achievements lead to more positive achievements. The reading scores on the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concept Exam for Koenig's 3rd-grade class have skyrocketed over the past few years, going from below the state average to well above this year.

The most essential part of the program is to have a solid team committed to the same goal, Quistorf said. All of the team members at Koenig are there to support, guide, and help each other and students to reach collective goals. In addition, a key factor is keeping class sizes small so teachers and staff can really get to know every child, she said.

RIF also recognized the School District of Thorp as a state champion.

RIF reaches underprivileged children up to age 8, and provides five million children with 17 million new, free books every year with the help of a national grassroots network of volunteers.

For more information, visit http://www.rif.org

Posted June 7, 2005