Students exceed goals in Phanatic About Reading program

The Phillie Phanatic held a special assembly for seventh grade students at Keith Valley Middle School due to their success in the Phanatic About Reading program. The program inspires students to read every day to improve their literacy skills while promoting a friendly competition among students.

Since September, students have been tracking their reading and setting personal goals. Teachers have been encouraging them to read at least 20 minutes a day and students made substantial progress throughout the year.

Teacher Sarah Beltz reached out to Phanatic About Reading and organized the assembly. Held on Feb. 18, 2020, the assembly was a celebration of the students reading achievements featuring music, dancing, photo-ops and of course, reading.

Teacher Katie Roddy read the book The Phillie Phanatic’s Best Rain Delay Ever while the Phanatic and his friend Lefty the Cat, played by teacher Bridget Golden, acted out the scenes. The Phanatic used props and his imagination to walk the kids through the books that he was reading to pass time during the rain delay. He traveled to Mars, dreamed of being a firefighter, a policeman, a doctor and also the President of the United States.

“The Phillies organization should be commended for promoting reading outside of the classroom,” said Golden. “The kids really seemed to enjoy the friendly competition among one another and relished in seeing the progress that they made.”