That's a lot of pizzas.
BOOK IT!, a program launched in 1984 by Pizza Hut helped turn many millennials into readers (albeit in screen form) with its progressive reading charts and challenges. And now the Reagan Era-program will try helping young minds grow – and score a personal-sized pan pizza from the Hut as a reward — across one million classrooms by 2020. According to a press release, 400 elementary schools in San Antonio participate in the reading program.
The program will move into a digital-first platform in the 2018-2019 school year that allows teachers to enroll for BOOK IT!, help parents track student progress on their computers and print award certificates directly from their inbox.
The move comes as a study in the
Nation's Report Card notes "nearly 2/3 of 4th graders aren’t reading at a proficient level," which is an indicator of a student's success in the future. And if you somehow aren't a fan of reading for pizza, a third party survey found that "61 percent of BOOK IT! alumni have some level of college degree, compared to 49 percent of general population;
BOOK IT! alumni have a higher incidence (22%) of earning $100K or more, compared to the general population (15%); and more than half (54%) of BOOK IT! alumni say they read with their children every day, compared to 32 percent of the general population.
But what we really want to know is when they'll add post-higher ed reading/pizza programs? Asking for a friend.
