Tennessee students encouraged to sign up to compete for $1,000 in summer reading contest

Students across Tennessee are encouraged to sign up to compete for a $1,000 scholarship in this year’s Tristar Reads contest.Tennesseans for Student Success (TSS) created the annual summer reading contest in 2016 to help school age children avoid the summer reading slide by spending 20 minutes a day with a book.This year’s contest begins May 30 and runs through August 7. Much like last year, there will be four winners, one in each category including overall, elementary school student (k-4), middle school student (5-8) and high school student (9-12).Participating students read over 273 thousand minutes combined last summer.“Each year we have been truly amazed and encouraged by the amount of reading students accomplished through our Tristar Reads contest,” said Tennesseans for Student Success President and CEO Adam Lister. “Reading even a little bit each day can help stop the summer reading slide that impacts so many students. Tristar Reads creates a fun challenge to keep those pages turning and ensure students maintain their reading comprehension skills to succeed in the school year ahead.”Last year’s overall winner Jeffrey Stubblefield read an astonishing amount, more than 30 thousand minutes. That’s approximately seven hours of reading each day.The rising fifth grader at Belvoir Christian Academy in Chattanooga says reading allows him to learn about many different things that he wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to learn about.“Reading is my favorite hobby because I learn so much,” said Stubblefield.  “It sparks my imagination, and it feels like there’s a movie going on in my head.”Learning about new things, and diving into stories was a theme among last year’s winners.Middle school winner Tallen Haag from Portland, Tennessee, read over 28 thousand minutes throughout the contest. Haag’s favorite books allowed her to dive into the worlds of science non-fiction and action-fiction, her favorite genres.“I really like reading because it gives me so much information and knowledge about the outside world that I wouldn’t otherwise know,” said Haag.Beyond the intrigue of learning about new places and worlds, there are other draws that keep students reading all summer long. Each winner of the reading contest receives a $1,000 scholarship.Harpeth High School student Sarah Collier says that scholarship money will be put to good use helping her pay for college.“I have to pay for my own college so being able to start off with some money to get the things I need will be very helpful because I’m going to be working to get my own money,” said Collier. “Having that start will be very helpful in the future.”Collier doesn’t read solely for the money. The eleventh-grade student loves reading because it helps her relax and take time for herself.“I love to read anytime, anywhere,” said Collier in an interview about her reading experiences in 2019. “I always have a book with me. It’s a great way to relax and escape from my 4 siblings. It helps entertain me when I have nothing else to do. It gives me ideas for art projects. It’s a great way to spend time outside, especially during the summer.”Collier, Haag, and Stubblefield are all multi-year winners, showing not only how much they love to read but how organized they can be juggling a busy schedule with reading.Haag says that was especially a challenge for her last year when she attended seven summer camps. The middle school student made time for reading by bringing books to camp, reading on the way to and from camp, and utilizing her down-time to rack up reading minutes.For younger students the motivation to read can be a bit different from saving for college. Griffin Harrison, a first grader at Nashville Classical Charter School in East Nashville, was inspired by the avid readers in his family. He won last year’s elementary school category by reading more than 10 thousand minutes.“I really like reading and I had more time this summer to read,” said Harrison.  “I was born in a house of people that read a lot of books. I have a big brother who is 12 and he recommends a lot of books to me, especially graphic novels he thinks I might like. I read a lot of the Snoopy comics this summer.”