June 10, 2024

Sovereign Avenue School won back-to-back victories.

ATLANTIC CITY — Middle School students from across the district converged on Sovereign Avenue School on Monday, June 10, 2024, for the Read AC competition.

Reigning champions Sovereign Avenue School gained the victory for a second consecutive year. Richmond Avenue School tied with Texas Avenue School for second place and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School Complex took third place.

Formerly known as the Battle of the Books, the Jeopardy game show-styled competition pitted schools against each other. But there were no real losers because all the students in the competition read more. Each school brought its own cheering section complete with school mascots and students who effectively became the studio audience.

Texas Avenue School brought its cheering section and Starcat mascott.

Mariann Storr, a retired District Teacher Coordinator English Language Arts (ELA), said the books chosen for the challenge were both enlightening and age appropriate. “The literature selection was outstanding,” said Storr. “These books were a great example of the diversity of literature. There were texts, graphic novels and the subjects varied. They were books that kids would read."

Mariann Storr served as the moderator in the Jeopardy game show-style competition.

Elianny Ramos-Sanchez, who was on the winning team, agreed. “I like how the books represented everybody — the Black community, the LGBTQ community,” said Ramos-Sanchez. “Some books dealt with human rights.” Ayatul Nur, also on the winning team, said the books addressed various topics. “Each book had a different problem,” said Nur. “Each book was interesting.”

Ayatul Nur (Left) and Elianny Ramos-Sanchez (Right) were two of the winning team members.

Second Grade Teacher Brittany Smith helped prep the students for the competition. "We try to run it like a traditional book club," said  Smith. "We introduce the kids to books, and we encourage them to read." Watching the students develop a love for reading is rewarding, she said. "Seeing students read almost as a hobby is nice, rather than it feeling like homework."

Sovereign Avenue School Principal Nicole Williams said the competition was encouraging. “Reading is important. Books in hand are important, just to show that our kids are reading,” said Williams. “I love it.” Each school fielded a team of six students. Each team read 15 books. Then Storr, the moderator similar to long-time Jeopardy host Alex Trebek asked questions and the teams had to determine which book each question was taken from, complete with the title and author.

The Sovereign Avenue School team celebrated with their school principal, teachers and competition coaches.

“It’s a lot of hard work,” Storr said. Jennifer Afanador, District Teacher Coordinator Grades 3-8 English Language Arts (ELA), said everyone involved with the competition worked together to make it a success. “I like the enthusiasm of the kids. We pulled in our math counterparts. It’s a team effort,” Afandador said. “This was a great competition,” Storr added. “We need more readers in life, and we need more readers in Read AC.”