The San Benito County Office of Education announced San Juan School was the winner of this past summer’s Footsteps2Brilliance reading contest.
The individual winner who read the most minutes, Aurora Loredo, also came from the San Juan Bautista school, said Krystal Lomanto, superintendent of schools in the county.
Her office oversees the annual contest. Last year, it was based on the total number of words read, while this past summer it was a minutes challenge, Lomanto said.
All of the students involved had a pizza party from the education office. As for Loredo, a first-grader this year, she received what Lomanto described as a “big trophy” for the accomplishment.
Lomanto also said kindergarten teacher Mayra Flores’ classroom read the most minutes as a group.
It’s all to help prevent digression in the summer, Lomanto said.
“We don’t want them to experience what we call the ‘summer slide’,” Lomanto said. “If kids aren’t engaging in reading, academics, they can lose up to six months what they learned prior.”
Lomanto noted how the education office rewards districts throughout the county for reading achievements in the program.
“San Juan was a big deal because they outperformed all the other districts,” Lomanto said, adding how the school has a dual immersion program. “It’s really exciting.”
