The Amarillo Sod Poodles announced today the launch of their brand-new reading program presented by Kumon Math and Reading Center of Amarillo.
The program’s mission is to help promote literacy and education among local Amarillo and Canyon students by providing incentives when they reach specific goals. The program is completely free for participating schools and is set to impact approximately 9,000 students in Amarillo and Canyon school districts in levels K-7.
“The Sod Poodles are committed to making a continued positive impact in our great community,” said Tony Ensor, President and General Manager of the Sod Poodles. “We are excited and proud to launch this motivating and fun program heading into our sequel season to promote lifelong reading and education to the future leaders of this community.”
“Kumon Math and Reading Center of Amarillo is proud to announce our new partnership with the Amarillo Sod Poodles, who share our mission to help children succeed in life!” said Vibha Patel, owner of Kumon Math and Reading Center of Amarillo. “This is a new, multi-year marketing partnership between the world’s largest after-school learning program and the first-ever Sod Poodles Reading Program. In addition to enhancing math and reading skills, Kumon helps children gain confidence and improve critical thinking skills that are essential to succeed inside and outside of the classroom. This partnership provides a unique opportunity to reach children of all ages and emphasize the importance of learning and reading through sports. By providing a fun goal for our children, reading can be made easy for the whole family and increase reading fluency by just reading 10 minutes a night! We want to encourage our children to see a whole new world through books!”
“We look forward to partnering with the Sod Poodles on this reading incentive program,” said Denise Blanchard, AISD Program Director for Community Partnerships. “The ability to read and read well is imperative to the success of our students.”
Intended as a five-week program, students are encouraged to “complete a game” by reading nine books that are appropriate to their particular level of reading comprehension.
Like a baseball game, the program is divided into a nine-inning format. For every book a student finishes, they complete an inning. After the first three innings are completed and he/she moves on to innings four through eight, the students earn incentives from program sponsors including Whataburger, Cinergy, McDonald’s, Sonic, and Gatti’s.
After a student finishes the ninth (final) inning, they receive a free voucher for a Sod Poodles game and are entered in a drawing to win a prize on behalf of Kumon Math and Reading Center of Amarillo.
All materials for the free reading program will be provided and delivered to schools by the Amarillo Sod Poodles. The program is scheduled to run from March 2 to April 3.
To kick off the program, Sod Poodles team mascot RUCKUS will be attending school assemblies to promote the program and get students excited.
For information on how to be a part of next year’s Sod Poodles reading program presented by Kumon, call the front office at 806-803-7762 or email [email protected]. The Sod Poodles host their 2020 home opener at HODGETOWN on Thursday, April 16 against the Arkansas Travelers (Seattle Mariners Double-A affiliate) for a three-game set. First pitch for the 2020 home opener is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
For the most up-to-date news on the Sod Poodles along with detailed information on promotions, follow the team on social media @sodpoodles on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For questions and more information, call 806-803-7762 or email [email protected].