Watson Elementary School's 5th Annual Read-A-Thon 2026
Reading Log Pledge Sheet Books & Bundts Tracker
Our Read-a-thon is a fundraiser in which students collect pledges or flat donations for their reading time, and 100% of the funds raised go back to our PTA to support student programs. What makes our Read-a-thon special is that it aligns with the NY State PTA’s PARP program, which promotes 20 minutes of shared reading daily. PARP (Pick a Reading Partner) encourages a child to read with a parent, grandparent, sibling, or other partner for at least 20 minutes daily. Reading together fosters a love of books. While not all read-a-thon minutes need to be with a partner, we encourage families to use this event as a chance to read together or side-by-side!
Our goal is for each student to read for at least 20 minutes daily and raise at least $25.
Read-a-thon Timeline
March 4-8 Students collect pledges.
March 9 Read-a-thon begins.
March 9-20 Students read and log minutes.
March 23-26 Students return pledge envelopes to their teacher to be considered for prizes.
Participation Incentives
Class Prizes:
- The class with the most minutes read per student (calculated to account for the different class sizes) wins a pizza party. Pizza participation subject to parent/guardian approval per district allergy guidelines.
- The class with the highest overall total minutes read wins extra recess.
Individual Student Prizes:
- The student with the most reading minutes in each class may choose a reading partner to read a story to their class.
- Every student who logs 100 minutes earns an entry into the grand prize raffle for a $100 Scholastic gift card. Each additional 30 minutes earns another entry, up to five entries per student. There will be two grand prize winners—one from grades K-2 and one from grades 3-5!
- After grand prize winners are selected, raffle entries will be used to select an additional 10 winners for a trip to the book vending machine. There will be five winners from grades K-2 and five winners from grades 3-5.
Pledge Sheet for your child to record pledge amounts to be collected and from whom
Reading Log for your child to record the books and/or minutes read per day
Lose your Read-a-thon envelope? No worries! Envelope colors are decorative and do not have any additional meaning. Cash and checks (payable to Watson PTA) must be submitted to homeroom teachers by Thursday, March 26 to be considered for prizes. Please be sure to include the following information:
- Student Name
- Teacher
- Grade
- Total Minutes Read
- Total Pledges Collected
