LORAIN, Ohio – A sea of students cheer loud and proud at Vincent Elementary.
The next few minutes may be ear-popping good, but as students line the halls, fourth grader Samantha Peak can’t contain her excitement.
“It is so much fun,” Samantha said. “It’s cool because we don’t usually get to run around the whole school.”
Samantha is one of dozens of students participating in “The Gauntlet,” a time-honored tradition, where kids get to run through the halls for reading books and testing well through the Accelerated Reader program.
Samantha has read the most books out of the near 600 students in the Lorain school. She’s earned 564 points and has a 92 percent in the program.
“High fives. You get to clap their hands,” she said. “You feel good because you’ve achieved something.”
The school is home to kindergarten through fourth graders, achieving some of the highest standards in the state.
“Vincent Elementary is a cool school because we all give three and we all be respectful,” said second grader Hailey Sykuta.
The school prides itself on a motto of “Give Me Three: Be responsible, be respectful and be a positive role model,” said principal Virginia Fitch.
Teacher Cheryl Smith said the school is also prides itself in the creative arts, like through the second-grade opera class she teaches.
“As they pantomime, we take those words and those we create into a libretto,” Smith said. “Like to do some rhyming. Sometimes I feel like Dr. Seuss because of the silly stuff we do in there.”
The opera class partners with music professionals from Cleveland State. The students learn the art of making a song from start to finish. By the end of the year, they’ll showcase their songs in a music program.
“It is the most amazing process and every year, I’ve done this for many, many, many years,” Smith said. “And every year, it is always different. You never know what story line the kids are going to come up with. It’s amazing.”