The Power of Reading

Sep. 24--HINSDALE, N.H. -- As students arrived at Hinsdale Elementary Tuesday morning, they were greeted by someone in a Strawberry Shortcake costume standing on the roof of their school.

Underneath the mask of the children's icon was Jurg Jenzer, principal at the school, waving to the giggling students as they made their way to class.

Jenzer was adorned in the American Greetings franchise character for more than seven hours after his students won a reading contest that he proposed to them prior to their 12-week summer break.

In June, the second-year principal in Hinsdale issued the challenge to his students to collectively read 25,000 pages during their summer vacation. If the children met the challenge, Jenzer would stand on the roof dressed in a costume chosen by a majority vote by students.

The students won the contest, surpassing their quota with a total of 33,658 pages read while on vacation.

While the goal of Jenzer's bet was to get students to exercise their minds in the summer, it also provided an opportunity for Hinsdale youth to learn about the voting process.

After students found out they won the challenge Sept. 12, the following week they were able to cast their ballot for the costume of their choice.

"This is something meaningful for kids," especially during a presidential election, said Jenzer. Of the 11 choices for their principal to wear, which included Ernie from "Sesame

Street," Winnie the Pooh, Bob the Builder and SpongeBob Squarepants, the students overwhelmingly voted for Strawberry Shortcake.

The popular children's character Dora the Explorer finished a distant second by more than 100 votes.

Jenzer said the reading challenge is a concept he has offered to students during many of his tenures as principal in different communities. Elementary school children in Putney and Bennington, New Hampshire have also seen him suited up while he was principal at their schools.

Through his reading contests, Jenzer has nurtured hundreds of students in the joys of reading, and has since appeared on multiple rooftops dressed in colorful character costumes.

The ultimate goal of the challenge, according to Jenzer, is to show students the positive side of reading, which has fallen behind watching television and playing video games as a recreational activity.

"Reading is no longer a popular pastime," he said. "The issue was to make sure the kids know there is power to reading books."

When students read at a young age, they can improve their vocabularies, increase brain capacity and master the English language, especially when parents read with them.