Schools

'Reading Warriors' Video is a Hit, Could Earn Aptos Junior High Up to $60,000

The video was produced single-handed by Briana Nagel, 14, an eighth-grader at Aptos Jr. High, a library supervisor said. The deadline for voting in the contest is March 18.

Students at Aptos Jr. High are taking part in a Reading Warriors program, and their participation is the subject of a video that has been submitted in an online contest that awards $200,000 worth of software products and services to six winning schools around the world, according to school and contest officials.

"Right now we are in fourth place," said Aptos Jr. High library media technician Megan Fuller, who created the Reading Warriors program.

"We need more votes," Fuller said. "We could use $60,000 worth of software products and services, books and eBooks. That's what I want."

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The contest, organized by Follett Corp. of McHenry, Illinois, takes into account more than video views and votes, Fuller said.

"It's more than just the video," Fuller said. "The video is 30 perdent and 70 percent is a written application where you have to explain your program. We submitted that in January."

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To view the video and cast votes, visit http://www.follettchallenge.com/video.cfm?id=305.

The video was produced single-handed by Briana Nagel, 14, an eighth-grader at Aptos Jr. High, Fuller said Wednesday in a phone interview.

"She filmed it all and she edited it by herself," Fuller said. "Some of the other videos are very professional looking. They look like they could have been produced by adults. I don't want to denigrate anyone, they're all terrific videos. But I'm very proud of Briana."

The Reading Warriors program is Fuller's brainchild, Aptos Jr. High Principal Brian Saxton said in the video.

"The Reading Warriors program . . . allows students to gain levels depending on how many books or words they're reading, and last year (Fuller) chose various ranks in the military service and is continuing on that," Saxton said.

"Students receive a weekly email as to what level they're on, they get a bracelet that indicates they're a Reading Warrior and their names are placed on a board in the library," Saxton said.

"And what we've really seen with the program is a vast improvement in the number of students reading, the interest in reading, as well as the comprehension scores are going up and kids just seem to really enjoy talking about the Reading Warriors program and being part of it," Saxton said.

Anyone can vote online to help choose the Follett Challenge winners by voting for the best video submission once a day up until March 18, according to Follett officials.

According to contest rules, an eligible voter is "a legal resident of one of the 50 United States, D.C., or Canada, except Quebec. No more than one vote is allowed per email address/household per day."

The awards in U.S. currency equivalent of products and services are listed as:

Grand Prize #1: $60,000 Grand Prize #2: $60,000 Winner #3: $35,000 Winner #4: $25,000 Winner #5: $15,000 Video Winner #6: $5,000

Follett bills itself as "a global education solutions provider" and as "the largest supplier of books, eBooks, textbooks and audiovisual materials to PreK-12 schools around the world."

For more information about Follett visit www.follettinternational.com/page/62/About%20Us.

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