ORLANDO, Fla – Over 3,000 Orange County Public School students were at the Kia Center on Monday to celebrate their reading achievements with the Orlando Magic.
To help encourage kids improve their reading skills, the Orlando Magic rolled out its “Pick, Read and Roll” program with Orange County Public Schools back in 2019.
“This is fun, it’s fun,” said Orlando Magic player, Jonathan Isaac. “Their energy, they’re excited, and then obviously we get to harp on reading and talk about how important it is, but really just get out of school, cut loose, kick back and have some fun.”
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
Since the program kicked off, students in participating Title I schools have seen a 30% increase in their reading scores compared to students at similar schools that did not participate.
OCPS Superintendent Dr. Maria Vazquez said it’s critical to think outside the box when it comes to keeping kids interested in learning.
“We have seen an increase in the number of students that are not coming to school,” Vazquez said. “Chronic absenteeism is something that is plaguing our country and getting children motivated to come to school, is one of our top priorities because if they’re not in school, they’re not learning and so finding ways to hook them into coming to school, reading, doing their best is very important to us.”
Around 150 fifth graders who are the most improved readers were recognized on the court while fourth graders cheered them on from the stands.
“I know these kids are super excited,” Isaac said. “I was telling Caleb in the line, you know imagine if we were in this position if we could have had something like this we would have been screaming our heads off too.”
Mac McClung said he was grateful to be able to participate in Monday’s event.
“Their energy is almost shocking,” McClung said. “We went out there and it’s kind of a moment you can kind of forget about your daily job and daily life and it was just a really cool experience.”
In addition to Pick, Read and Roll the Orlando Magic give more than $2 million to the local community through event sponsorships, donated tickets, autographed merchandise, grants and the team’s community relations programs impact an estimated 100,000 kids each year.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: