Contributed by AEA
The Alabama Education Association is pleased to announce Samantha Knowles, a second-grade teacher at Southview Primary, is the district 9 winner of the 2021 Be A Champion and Read Decorating Contest. As the winner, Knowles receives $200 that can be used in her classroom.
“I am very passionate about reading and igniting the fire in my kids,” Knowles said. “Every morning my students saw me painting Aubie and Big AL for the bulletin board and as I worked on the decorations they would ask to see what I added, and through that they got really excited about the contest.”
Knowles plans to buy new books for her classroom library with the $200, and her students will be able to pick the books purchased for the classroom.
AEA President Dr. Susan Williams Brown said, “AEA is dedicated to promoting a love of reading for all Alabama students, and our Be A Champion and Read Contest is a terrific way to motivate students to read. I congratulate Samantha Knowles for winning the decorating contest and engaging her students in reading, because we know reading is the foundation of all learning. I am excited Ms. Knowles is going to use the prize money to buy books for her students.”
AEA’s Be A Champion and Read decorating contest ran in conjunction with the Be A Champion and Read student reading contest. To qualify to win the decorating contest, educators across Alabama submitted photos of decorated bulletin boards, walls or doors that promoted the Be A Champion and Read Contest in their school. One winner was selected from each in-service center district.