The Top Reader Competition in Hillcrest High School is a reading contest that was created by librarian Ms. Kara Williams in 2022-2023.
Ms. Williams describes the Top Reader Competition as, “an initiative that we do with our students to reward them for checking out the most books from our libraries and other libraries that we have access to through our system… At the end of every year, the person who has the most checkouts gets their name on our perpetual plaque, which lives on the library wall, and then we also have a medal that goes to the top three students who have the highest checkouts.” The Top Reader Competition is a benefit to Hillcrest High School because it motivates students to read more.
This event gives students a competitive edge and forces them to read more books to defeat readers who also want to be among the top readers in the school. Last year’s top reader Ka’ron Jones feels great “to know [he] was on top of [his] reading game.” He was motivated to “beat Tawon because [he] do[es]n’t like being 2nd.” About reading in general, Jones said, “It’s fun to do when you get into the genre you really like.” To further show the positive effect the reading competition has on students in Hillcrest High School, Jones’s response shows school spirit and the drive to be number one.
Another student I interviewed was the current top reader, Nathan Hillman. I asked him how the reading competition affected his reading life, and he responded, saying, “The competition definitely motivated me to truly read for joy again. I think I’d been reading for the last couple of years just because I’d done it for so long, but having the competition and having my chance threatened really lit a spark in me.”
It sounds like the competition is fierce, but the winner is not yet decided. You still have a shot to get involved and beat Hillman!
Indeed, the top reader competition organized by Ms. Williams has proven to be a success for the students in Hillcrest High School. It increased academics and shape students future.
Go out, pick up a book and read.
