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Irvington Elementary School students celebrate winning the I Love to Read Challenge

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The winners of the I Love to Read Challenge for 2023 didn’t let a thunderstorm or two keep them from enjoying a special pizza party.

The winners of this year’s challenge, Mrs. Kimberly Barnes’ third-grade class at Irvington Elementary School in Indianapolis, read for a total of 76,586 minutes.

To reward the students for their hard work, News 8’s Hanna Mordoh stopped by Mrs. Barnes’ classroom Wednesday afternoon to enjoy some pizza, hand out a few prizes, and present the championship trophy!

Along with the pizza party and trophy, the students also received a classroom library refresh from Scholastic, tickets to GMR Grand Prix practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a free book from Teachers’ Treasures, and other prizes. Mrs. Barnes will enjoy a Teachers’ Treasures membership and shopping spree.


WISH-TV is proud to partner with the NCAA Readers Become Leaders program to encourage a love of reading in third-graders at a time when students are developmentally adapting from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” 

Recent studies show that young children have been hit the hardest by academic disruptions from the pandemic, so reading is more important now than ever.