Tennessee Students Spend Nearly 680 Thousand Minutes Reading in Tristar Reads Competition

NASHVILLE — Tennesseans for Student Success (TSS) is excited to once again congratulate each participant in our annual Tristar Reads contest, including our four category winners who each spent an impressive amount of time reading this summer.

During the contest, more than 160 students combined to log nearly 680 thousand reading minutes, including Overall Winner seventh-grader Elijah Riggs, who spent more than 33 thousand minutes with a book!

“I read an average of eight hours per day,” said Riggs. “I love going into the books and feeling what they feel and getting to think like they do.”

Elijah’s sister, sixth-grader Sylvia Riggs, won our Middle School Student category. The Kingston Springs siblings and two other students will all take home a $1,000 college scholarship for winning the contest categories listed below:

Overall Winner Elijah Riggs

Seventh-Grader at Harpeth Middle School in Kingston Springs

Elementary School Student (K-4) Winner Ellie Martin 

Second-grade homeschooler from Knox County

Middle School Student (5-8) Winner Sylvia Riggs

Sixth-grader at Harpeth Middle School in Kingston Springs

High School Student (9-12)  Winner Delia Sigler

Tenth-grader at Tipton Rosemark Academy in Millington

“Reading is a foundational part of every child’s academic journey, and we created Tristar Reads to ensure students are spending time with books during the break and not falling into the summer slide that sets too many children back each year,” said Tennesseans for Student Success President and CEO Lana Skelo. “The strong participation we saw this year is another sign of the improving education landscape that’s occurring all across our state. Each student who competed in Tristar Reads will be better prepared for the fall semester because they laid the groundwork for success this summer.”

TSS created Tristar Reads in 2016 to invite all Tennessee students entering grades K-12 to spend at least 20 minutes each day reading a book. Students participating in this year’s program logged reading minutes from May 28 to August 4, 2024. The contest additionally partnered with Atmos Energy and Vooks to provide children with access to hundreds of digital books through a free 1-year subscription. TSS is appreciative of Atmos Energy’s partnership and support to expand reading opportunities and literacy for Tennessee students.

Tennesseans for Student Success is a statewide network of parents and caregivers, teachers, community leaders, volunteers, and advocates dedicated to championing and supporting Tennessee’s students and their futures.