Sipley Principal Keeps His Promise

Principal Don Mrozik posed this challenge to his students in October:

If 95 percent of Sipley students read at least 30 minutes a day between Oct. 14 and Dec. 5, Mrozik would shave his head.

Mrozik kept his word Friday, randomly selecting six sixth-graders who met the goal to be his hair stylists. 

The Sipley principal's new look was only part of the deal. 

Students in fourth through sixth grade with the most engaged minutes of reading will receive a Nook e-reader. Students in second and third grade with the most engaged minutes of reading will receive a $50 gift card to  

Sipley students in the school's advanced reading program, called the literacy enrichment program, competed in their own group for the contest. 

The school will announce the winners of both the Nooks and the gift cards Tuesday. 

Engaged reading minutes are determined by which books the children read. Each book is assigned a certain number of engaged reading minutes it would take for a child to complete it. Students have to pass Accelerated Reader tests, which judge the student's knowledge of the book, for the book to count. 

The students who shaved Mrozik's head were Ben A., Trinity H., Stephen P., Miguel S., Emily H. and Erika J. Each read at least 35 minutes a day between Oct. 14 and Nov. 29 and had at least a 90 percent passing average on Accelerated Reader tests. 

Why the contest 

Sipley has failed to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) for the past two years, though for two different reasons. 

In 2011, Sipley's Hispanic subgroup did not make AYP. You need 45 students in the grades taking the ISAT for a subgroup to be counted. There were not enough Hispanic students in 2010 for this subgroup to count. 

In 2010, Sipley's economically disadvantaged subgroup did not make AYP. In 2011, that subgroup met its goals. 

Mrozik that he had seen a direct correlation between the amount of reading children partake in and their proficiency rates, as measured by the ISAT, he said. 

He said he came into the school year "[vowing] that [Sipley] students would read more than they did last year, with great attention paid to those who were reading at a minimal level," he wrote in an e-mail to parents. 

Mrozik started with discussions with students about independent reading, thinking the school would involve parents of reluctant readers via meetings and phone conferences if needed. 

But by September, the number of reluctant readers was too great. Of all second through sixth graders, 45 percent were reading less than an average of 30 minutes a day.

In early October he asked some sixth-grader students what it would take for them to read more. They said they would read at least 30 minutes a day if Mrozik did the Dougie. Mrozik declined, but offered to shave his head instead.

The contest was born. 

The results 

Since the contest started, Sipley students "have been reading at a furious pace," Mrozik wrote to parents. "There is an overall sense of enjoyment for reading at Sipley School that I have never seen in any school that I have been a part of."

Circulation in the school library tripled, and the school increased the number of books and Playaways (audio and video players) in Sipley's Learning Resource Center. 

From the start of school -- Aug. 24 -- to Oct. 13, Sipley students read 3,110 books with an average passing rate of 83.1 percent on AR tests and read on average for 35 minutes per day. During that time, 55 percent of students read more than 30 minutes per day.

From the start of the contest -- Oct. 14 -- to Nov. 29, students read 4,692 books with an average passing rate of 86.7 percent and read on average 66 minutes per day. During this time, 95 percent of students read more than 30 minutes a day. 

What's next 

Sipley's new goal is for students in grades 2-6 to read at least 35 minutes a day with a 90 percent passing average on Accelerated Reader tests. The tests, Mrozik said, are designed for a student to score a 90 percent if he or she reads closely. 

From Dec. 12 to May 25, the students with the most engaged reader minutes will again win a Nook or a gift card.