It's time for students in The Valley to hunker down with a good book.
The Arizona Coyotes are again launching the Coyotes Reading Program, in which 100 Arizona classes from grades 2-4 crack the books with the hopes of earning giveaways, pizza parties, appearances from the team's mascot, Howler, and even player visits.
The initiative has become so popular, in fact, that classes from Queen Creek all the way to Lake Havasu City have participated in the past. Any teachers interested in participating can register their class here.
Registration closes on Friday.
"We are extremely proud to roll out the Coyotes Reading Program for another year," Coyotes President and CEO Xavier A. Gutierrez said. "One of our Foundation's main pillars of service is education, and literacy is a cornerstone of academic success for all students. This program is an incredible motivational tool for our educators to leverage within their classrooms, and we take great pride in helping Arizona students achieve long-term success not just in school, but also in life."
The program runs from October through March, and teachers who participate submit their monthly top reader nominations, with the selected winner earning a pizza party for their class courtesy of Delta Dental.
All participants will receive program instructions, Coyotes-branded prizes for six months, a Coyotes branded teacher gift, Coyotes branded Top Reader Certificates, and the aforementioned opportunities for a visit from Howler or members of the team.
Calling all 2nd-4th grade teachers in Arizona. The Arizona Coyotes Reading Program is back!
Literacy aligns with the educational pillar of the Arizona Coyotes Foundation's mission, and Nadia Rivera, the Arizona Coyotes' Chief Impact Officer and Executive Director of Foundation and Community impact, said the program is a useful tool for teachers to use within their existing curriculum.
"This is all about supporting our amazing teachers in Arizona to help them do what they're already doing," Rivera said. "If you can incentivize students with a little something to pick up a book and read it, then that's what we're ultimately out to assist with."
Hannah Wampler, The Coyotes' Community Outreach Coordinator who is in charge of the program for the 2023-24 season, said the program has already seen over 50 returning teachers to the program from last year, highlighting just how popular and effective it is.
"It makes a difference out in the community, and people also know about the Coyotes because of the reading program," Wampler said. "Just seeing the kids' faces when you come in with the player, they love it, their foam pucks are signed by the players, and the smiles on their faces make it worth it."
Sherri Skummer, who has taught third grade at Desert Trails Elementary School for 23 years, is one of those returning educators. She said the program is a useful tool with her students, who are at a critical age in their academic development.
Skummer has her students complete reading logs, and it's not hard to motivate them considering the contest aspect around pizza parties, as well as Howler and player visits, energize them to continually read throughout the schoolyear.
It's especially a critical age because third grade students begin to focus more on reading comprehension, as opposed to just learning how to read text. She said the excitement at the beginning of the program morphs into a love of reading midway through the year, and the prizes and incentives positively reinforce a child's efforts.
"By that time, they now have their favorite genres. They have their favorite authors and their favorite characters, and because of that, they're learning to love to read," Skummer said. "It's a big motivator, and they do really like the prizes, but it's also just the point that they're working towards something meaningful."
Those subsequent prizes not only reward individual achievements - they also contribute to a sense of camaraderie and community in the classroom.
"When my students come up every month to get their prizes, whether it's a Coyotes pencil case, or a bookmark, or a puck, everyone cheers," Skummer said. "It's just like a class family. We're just helping each other, we're cheering for each other, and then as a class, if we keep doing this, we can get the highest prize possible."
In the end, everyone comes out a winner.
"It shows the students that there's other people who care about their academic success," Rivera said. "It's not just their teachers, it's not just their parents, it's these strangers that are rooting for them, too, and that makes all the difference in the world."
