Local elementary student wins statewide reading competition

The Alabama Education Association (AEA) this week announced its 2024 annual “Be a Champion and Read” contest winners.  

AEA’s Be a Champion and Read contest is a statewide reading competition that has included over half a million student participants representing every school district in Alabama.

Alabama public school K-6 students are challenged to read six appropriate reading-level books to qualify for the grand prize. There are two winners of this competition each year, one being an Auburn fan, and one being an Alabama fan. The grand prize for the award winners is to attend the Iron Bowl with two guests, which includes sideline passes and pre-game activities.

The winner for Team Auburn was 4th grader Lily Hindsman from John S. Jones Elementary School in Rainbow City, Alabama, and the winner of the Team Alabama award was Jordan May, a 2nd grader from University Charter School in Livingston, Alabama.

Both students were informed that they won the contest in a surprise announcement in front of their classmates in assemblies at their schools. To make matters more exciting, Lily was given her award by Auburn’s mascot, Aubie, and Jordan was given her award by Alabama’s mascot, Big Al.

Aubie presented Lily with a signed autograph from Hugh Freeze, while Big Al presented Jordan with a signed autograph from Kalen DeBoer. Both students were given tickets and sideline passes to the Iron Bowl for themselves and two guests.

This year alone, over 27,000 students entered the competition as contestants, a testament to AEA’s commitment to encouraging reading for Alabama’s youth.

“This contest has shown yet again that tens of thousands of Alabama elementary school students are fired up and excited to read,” said AEA President Dr. Susan Williams Brown. “Reading is a crucial building block for all other learning, which is why AEA established the Be a Champion and Read contest in 2011 to motivate young students to develop a love of reading. This contest is another way for AEA to help establish foundational reading skills and increase students’ reading proficiency.”

This marks the eleventh year AEA has sponsored the contest. AEA is also launching its inaugural Be a Champion and Count contest to encourage students to sharpen their math skills. Winners of this competition will receive tickets to the Alabama vs. Auburn basketball games in 2025. 

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