By Jen Rinaldi

It was not quite 5:00 p.m. and already there was a line of students waiting to be let into the school building. The excitement shone on their faces as their parents tried to keep their charges close.

If you love Harry Potter, then Blue Ridge Elementary School’s Literacy Night was the place to be. Their literacy night took place on Thursday, January 23, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

With Literacy so crucial to a child’s future, programs and America are falling behind. We need to applaud when faculty and community join together for a learning event. This event, like many I write about, is essential to our community’s wellbeing. According to stats on the Literacy Projects website, “currently forty-five million Americans are functionally illiterate and cannot read above a fifth-grade level.” Our community and our schools are there to help change that statistic.

A child’s cognitive processes develop rapidly in the first few years of life. By age three, eighty-five percent of a child’s brain has developed. With those facts in mind, nights like this are precious to enhance a child’s love of reading and ability to learn.

Blue Ridge Elementary was decorated with signs directing participants to all the different activities set up along the hallways. Our first stop was the library, which had been transformed into Hogwarts.

A Fantastical Fairy (Jamie Dye) was dressed to the nines! She had her magic wand, a crown, and a glowing skirt. She was the Emcee, leading anxious students to the first stop on their evening literary journey.

A wonderland of lights and creepy creatures crept along the shelves. Spiders and ravens adorned the tables, and a pointy hat sat on a chair in front of a picture of the famous school. Harry Potter’s tower and window made of cardboard were adorned with lights beckoning children to enter for a selfie. (A little bit of ‘stay time’) at work.

At the Hogwarts library, children were given a “Magic Card” with symbols they would need to find by visiting each of the different locations along their route around the school.

In attendance was PTSO (The parent-teacher fundraising group) They were selling swag with the profits going directly to the staff at Blue Ridge Elementary School.

“The more you read, 

the more things you know.

The more that you learn, 

the more places you’ll go.”

­— Dr. Suess

Arizona Game and Fish had a table where they gave away swag and flyers about fire safety. The Nexus Coalition for Drug Prevention and First Things First shared a table to inform parents about the many services offered to aid with mental health and drug abuse concerns and Pinetop-Lakeside Library was on hand to promote their reading program “1000 Books before Kindergarten.”

In other hallways, there were local authors, Betsy Love and Kimberley Waters, with children and young adult books for purchase.

A big hit with the kids was the therapy dogs from Gail and Wendy who live in Vernon. Their therapy dogs sat patiently while the kids read to them. Their dogs licked faces all night, greeting all who ventured nearby.

The music room had an ongoing music circle, producing a wonderful rhythm that crept into the hallways, inviting others to join.

Every child left with free books of their choice. The books were provided by Basha High School AcDec, along with private donations. Many kids left with as many as five books.

According to recent studies, the number of books in a child’s home correlates significantly with higher reading scores. It makes me glad to see these young ones with books in hand.

Sprinkled throughout the hallways among invited community organizations, were tables with games set up by teachers from the school. One of the activities was called “Magical Yet,” asking students to draw what magic would be coming their way. Old favorites such as Pin the Tail on the Donkey were also offered with a new twist. Each player had to pin the correct story in the right place. Sylvester and the magic pebble was a favorite among children who crowded around the table to receive their own magic stone. 

Navajo County Readiness was there to demonstrate Car seat safety tips and to present their teen reach program. Another guest was Child Find, which is a component of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA ’04), that requires Public Education Agencies (PEA) to locate, identify, and evaluate all children with disabilities, aged birth through 21, located within their boundaries of responsibility who need early intervention or special education services. Tables like these were of great help to parents who might not know how to access the resources offered.



It was a magical night for all of us! All of those who worked so hard to make the night special should be commended.