Read Ready Covington’s “reading challenge” starts today for children in preschool through 3rd grade, and — for those who accept the challenge – there are prizes involved.
The 2025 Read Across Covington Reading Challenge, which runs through April 8, is a way families can read with their child using the free Footsteps2Brilliance and Clever Kids University digital apps.
Mary Kay Connolly, director of Read Ready Covington – the family and community literacy initiative that’s supported, in part, by the City – said both digital apps are fun learning programs that build things like vocabulary, phonological awareness/phonics (the relationship between sound/letter symbols), comprehension, and problem solving.
Critical to that effort, she said, are the parents and older people in a child’s life.
“People often think learning to read is a natural process and starts in school. Actually, the first and crucial knowledge, skills, and positive attitudes about learning occur starting at birth with active encouragement and participation by the adults in a child’s life,” said Connolly.
Covington children who are ages 3 through third grade — or who are attending a childcare, education program or school located in the geographic footprint of the city, have access to the Footsteps2Brilliance and Clever Kids University digital apps, which are available in English and Spanish and can be used on any smartphone, tablet, laptop, or PC.
Details of the reading challenge:
• How to participate: Read stories and songs daily for a minimum of 75 minutes each week, about 15 minutes a day – and complete questions and activities in Footsteps2Brilliance for children in preschool through third grade, or Clever Kids University, for children in preschool through kindergarten. Children who qualify will be entered into a weekly raffle for cool prizes.
• Measuring of progress: Each child must use only their own Footsteps2Brilliance or Clever Kids University account. Log in and out with the secret code for each child. Parents can use their own account as well to monitor their child’s progress.
• The Rewards: Six students’ names will be drawn each week of the five weeks (30 awards in all).
City of Covington