Teacher gets pied for reading

AMMON, Idaho (KIFI) - A local teacher got not only one but multiple pies in the face on Wednesday. Nick Browneller gave his elementary school students a reading challenge, and now they're reaping the sweet rewards.

"Growing up, I was not an avid reader.... I was an outside kid," Browneller said. "As the school counselor, one of my plans was just to get these kids excited, to want to do things maybe outside of their norm. I thought, you know, reading books tends to be a difficult thing for a lot of kids. So I just thought the motivation would be there if I made it worth their while."

Browneller and the Monticello Moontessori faculty challenged each student in the school to read 10 books. Avid readers were able to fly through more than 1,000 books in a semester. Some read more than 60.

Now, teachers see the challenge is paying off. Students in Mrs. Stoker's second grade class are already taking reading beyond the challenge.

"A couple of my students started at book club because we are doing that in our reading groups," Stoker said. "They started taking turns reading and talking about the book. And that was the best day when i saw them doing it on their own without encouragement from any adult."

More than 150 students hit the books, so they could pie their teacher. But despite the mess and cold weather, Mr. Browneller was a good sport.