Tennessee Students Spend More Than a Million Minutes Reading in Tristar Reads Competition

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

During the contest more than 300 students combined to log 1.2 million reading minutes over the summer, including overall winner Taylor Alsup who spent more than 31 thousand minutes with a book! Those minutes from students across the state mark the most in contest history.

“I enjoy that while I read I am able to experience something new. I was busy often this summer, with work and cheer, so reading gave me the break I needed. When I needed something happy I could look to what I was reading to find it,” said Alsup. “I just want to thank Tristar Reads for allowing me the opportunity to take an activity I love to do, and use it to benefit my future.”

Alsup and three other students will all take home a $1,000 college scholarship for winning the following categories:

Overall Winner Taylor Alsup

Senior at Stewart’s Creek High School in Smyrna

Elementary school student (K-4) Winner Wesley Martin 

Third-grade homeschooler from Morristown

Middle school student (5-8) Winner Gibson Weber 

Sixth-grade at Oakland Middle School in Murfreesboro

High school student (9-12)  Winner Lucas Hinds

Tenth-grade at Roane County High in Kingston

“The vital role reading plays in children’s academic success has received a lot of attention this year and we’re proud to see our Tristar Reads contest playing a part in the statewide drive to encourage literacy,” said Tennesseans for Student Success President and CEO Adam Lister. “We created Tristar Reads to provide a fun way to challenge students to avoid the summer slide so many experience when they’re not in the classroom. Seeing our contest grow to more than a million reading minutes this year is an encouraging sign for the future. Each student who took part in Tristar Reads will be better prepared to hit the books this fall because they’ve kept their reading comprehension skills sharp over the 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 30 to August 7, 2023.

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.