Arizona’s literacy push gains momentum through competition

By Stacy Mantle
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As Arizona works to close longstanding literacy gaps, a growing number of initiatives are moving beyond traditional instruction and into spaces students already care about.

One of the clearest examples played out alongside one of the state’s largest sporting events.

The Read to the Final Four program, timed with the 2026 NCAA Women’s Final Four in Phoenix at the beginning of April, turned reading into a competitive, community-driven experience. The results were hard to ignore.

More than 12,000 third-graders across 191 schools logged a combined 21,426,398 minutes of reading — the equivalent of nearly 41 years.

“Literacy is foundational to long-term student success, and Read to the Final Four continues to show what’s possible when learning is paired with excitement, encouragement and community support,” said Paul Luna, president and CEO of Helios Education Foundation in a press release.

At the center of the competition was Mary C. O’Brien Elementary School in Casa Grande, where students averaged more than 10,400 minutes of reading per student during the challenge, outperforming schools across the state.

“The results from this year’s program are remarkable,” said Luna.”But what’s even more meaningful are the stories from educators who saw students embrace reading in new ways.”

But the numbers only tell part of the story.

Where literacy meets motivation

Educators across participating schools described a shift that extended beyond the classroom.

Students were reading before and after school, on weekends and at home with their families. In some cases, reading expanded into art, music and physical education — a signal that literacy, when positioned differently, can move from requirement to culture.

This aligns with what literacy experts and statewide initiatives have been emphasizing: engagement matters as much as instruction.

"The Read to the Final Four statewide reading challenge underscores the importance of students building their literacy skills by engaging actively in reading books," said Terri Clark, literacy director for Read On Arizona.

By tying reading to competition, teamwork and visible progress programs like Read to the Final Four tap into intrinsic motivation that traditional models often struggle to reach.

“Read to the Final Four shows how the energy of championship competition can inspire young students far beyond the court,” said Lynn Holzman, vice president of women’s basketball at NCAA.

A critical window for intervention

The timing is not incidental.

Third grade represents a pivotal place in a student's academic trajectory at which they are expected to transition from decoding text to using reading as a tool for learning across subjects.

"Third grade is a pivotal year for literacy development, and Read to the Final Four gives students a fun, motivating way to build lifelong reading habits,” said Jay Parry, CEO of the Phoenix Final Four Local Organizing Committee.

When students fall behind at this stage, the effects compound and impact everything from academic confidence to long-term outcomes.

Programs that increase reading volume, engagement and consistency during this window are increasingly seen as essential, not supplemental.

The role of community and real-world connection

Another key takeaway: literacy doesn’t improve in isolation.

The program’s structure, rooted in a bracket-style competition tied to a major sporting event, created a shared goal across classrooms, schools and communities.Families became part of the process. Schools rallied around collective progress, and students saw their effort connected to something bigger than a worksheet or assignment.

This mirrors a broader shift happening across Arizona’s literacy strategy: moving from siloed interventions to integrated, community-supported approaches.

A scalable model for Arizona

While Read to the Final Four is event-based, its underlying framework offers a roadmap for future literacy efforts:

• Gamification and goal-setting to increase reading volume
• Cross-sector partnerships that bring in athletics, nonprofits and community organizations
• Student-centered motivation rather than compliance-driven models
• Family engagement as a multiplier effect

Importantly, the program delivered tangible resources. Finalist schools received funding for literacy and library programs, while thousands of students statewide earned access to free books helping to reinforce access alongside engagement.

The winning school received a $10,000 literacy grant, while the three finalist campuses were each awarded $5,000 to support reading and library programs.

This approach also reinforces a growing trend highlighted in Arizona’s broader literacy work: athletes and sports programs are emerging as powerful literacy advocates.

“By giving third-graders a chance to work toward a shared goal… this program brings together the spirit of teamwork, learning and the Women’s Final Four,” said Holzman.

Whether through mentorship, visibility or structured programs, athletics provides a familiar and aspirational entry point for students — particularly those who may not initially identify as readers.

By connecting reading to movement, mentorship and real-world role models, initiatives like this are reframing literacy not as a requirement but as a pathway.

“We’re proud of the thousands of students across Arizona who have embraced this challenge and grateful to our partners who help make this program possible,” said Parry. “Events like the NCAA Women’s Final Four bring meaningful, lasting impact for our communities.”

Arizona’s literacy challenge is far from solved. But the early signals are clear: when reading is connected to purpose, community and momentum, students respond. 

"Reading consistently is so important to boost academic outcomes for students. Tying it to sports is a way to break through the distractions that are all too prevalent in this day and age," said Rebecca Gau, executive director of STAND for Children. "Anything we can do to encourage students to spend more time reading and engaging with a book is a win."

"Read On Arizona congratulates the students of all four-finalist schools.  These students are sure to demonstrate the lifelong benefits of becoming skilled readers as literacy is the key to student achievement, a strong workforce and Arizona’s future,” Clark said.

Increasingly, the path to stronger literacy outcomes may not start with a textbook but with a bracket.

Editor’s note: A grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation made this story possible. The foundation awarded 15 newsrooms to pay for solutions-focused education reporters for two years. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.

Stacy Mantle
Education Solutions Reporter

smantle@iniusa.org

Meet Stacy
Stacy Mantle is joining the team at Independent Newsmedia, Inc. as an Education Solutions journalist, thanks to a grant from the Arizona Community Collaborative. She has a long history in education that ranges from teaching junior high and middle school to developing curriculum and standards-based assessments.

Community: A longtime advocate for animal welfare, Stacy is deeply involved in rescue efforts and volunteers with several nonprofit organizations.

Random Fact: Once upon a time, she shared her home with a pet coyote and two wolf hybrids. The experiences were wild enough to become the subject of her first book!

Education: She holds a BA in English with a minor in Political Science, a Post-baccalaureate in Secondary Education, and an MBA with a emphasis on Marketing.

Hobbies: In her spare time, Stacy writes fast-paced urban fantasy novels, crafts small-batch artisan soap, and is always up for hiking or off-roading through the Arizona wilderness with her husband of 23 years.