Students cheer at the Read to the Final Four launch celebration at Pendergast Community Center in November. Photo: Courtesy of Arizona Sports & Events Alliance
With less than two months until the NCAA Women's Final Four tips off in Phoenix, Arizona third-graders have a slam-dunk opportunity to win money for their school.
The big picture:Read to the Final Four, a bracket-style tournament mimicking March Madness, aims to encourage literacy in Arizona.
Participating schools log the number of reading minutes for all third graders and the top schools advance in the bracket.
The final four schools will be honored at Tourney Town, the festival component to the Women's Final Four, and the winning school will receive $5,000 to support its library programs.
Why it matters:Academic research shows that third grade is a critical year for reading development, as children transition from learning to read to reading to learn.
By the numbers: Between Nov. 3 and Feb. 4 (the day the top 32 schools were announced), 12,082 Arizona third-graders logged a combined 14.8 million reading minutes.
What's next: The "Sweet Sixteen" schools will be announced tomorrow.
