Photos and story by Janet Schultz
Reading is very rewarding, but more so for the students at the Lewiston-Porter Intermediate Education Center.
As part of the school's Parents As Reading Partners Program, Principal Andrew Auer told the students that he would work on top of the school building if they could read 125,000 pages.
Not unusual - except for Auer, who happens to be afraid of heights.
Well, not only did they reach the goal, they exceeded it by recording 146,975 pages.
"The students were close to their goal (113,000 pages) on the deadline date of Oct. 14; so we gave them an extension thinking if they worked hard, they could do it," said Auer.
"We never expected them to read over 50,000 pages in a weekend.
"One student actually read two Harry Potter books during that time," said Auer.
So on Friday, Oct. 21, Auer took on his fear. The original plan of being raised up in a high lift couldn't be done because of weather, so he had to climb up the two-story building on a ladder.
The students cheered him on as he made his way up. And he spent the rest of the day in his rooftop office, complete with laptop, cell phone, pager and a water bucket and string to send up and down for whatever he needed. (Bathroom breaks were allowed but he had to make up his time.)
So the students read and learned from the books, but also learned that fears can be overcome.
PARP brings students and their families together by reading together for at least 15 minutes each day, hoping that reading will become part of the family routine. This year's theme was "Take the Lead - Read."