Highlands and Rufus E. Payne Elementary Schools have been announced as winners of Beanstack’s inaugural Reading Culture Trailblazer Award. The schools are leading participants in Mayor Deegan’s River City Readers literacy challenge, which is being conducted using the free Beanstack app.

Beanstack allows users to log their reading minutes per day. River City Readers is challenging children from across the entire city to use the app to log one million minutes of collective reading in 2024. Prizes will be awarded to top young readers at the end of the year.

“I’m delighted to see that our young readers are working so hard on this challenge and reading every day,” said Mayor Deegan. “Congratulations to the students and to the leadership at Highlands and Rufus E. Payne. Remember to keep reading as we work to read one million minutes citywide this year.”
Mayor Deegan visited Rufus E. Payne Elementary School during Celebrate Reading Week in April, to encourage students there to take part in the River City Readers. Challenge.

The Reading Culture Trailblazer Award is granted to schools that gain over 75% participation in Beanstack each school year. By winning the award, the schools are demonstrating that they’re using Beanstack effectively to build a culture of reading.

Data on literacy shows that young readers engaged in rewards or challenges like Mayor Deegan’s River City Readers log an average of 20 minutes of reading per day. Adding just one reward to a challenge more than doubles average participation compared to challenges without rewards.

As award recipients, the schools will receive Beanstack’s Reading Culture Rebate, a $150 gift card redeemable at a number of retailers. The award is intended to assist the schools in celebrating their reading prowess.

For more information on River City Readers, visit www.jacksonville.gov/rivercityreaders (where you can also download the Beanstack app).