The Benteen Elementary School Helen Ruffin Picturebook Reading Bowl winning team. Photo credit: Benteen Elementary School, APS ©
Over 300 Atlanta Public Schools (APS) students gathered virtually in October for the Helen Ruffin Picturebook Reading Bowl, an annual competition celebrating literacy and comprehension. The annual event, hosted by the APS Library Media Services team, brought together students from kindergarten through third grade to vie for the title of district champion.
The event has seen remarkable growth in its third year at APS, expanding from 11 participating teams in its inaugural year to 31 schools in 2024. This year’s competition featured 20 carefully selected picture books, with students fielding questions about the authors, plots, characters, and the broader significance of the stories. Using the BuzzIn.live online buzzer system, teams raced to provide correct answers, testing both their recall and quick thinking.
“Our goal is to get students to love reading and literacy, and the Helen Ruffin Picturebook Reading Bowl combines that love of reading with their informational skills and navigating pictures,” APS Library Media Services coordinator Charice Coston said. “It prepares them to be lifelong learners and readers as they get into those more complex texts, like chapter books. Recalling information from those picture books helps them to compete in our future reading competitions.”
The competition concluded with Benteen Elementary School claiming first place, followed by Westside Atlanta Charter School in second. Both teams advanced to the Metro Regional Helen Ruffin Picturebook Reading Bowl on November 16, where they competed with neighboring students from Buford, Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton, Henry, Newton, and Rockdale counties. Benteen Elementary School secured an impressive sixth place.
One notable moment from this year’s event was Scott Elementary School’s performance. While it did not place in the top rankings, it scored 100 points higher than in 2023, showing significant growth in literacy.
Next are the preliminary APS cluster competitions for the “Super Bowl” of reading, the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl for fourth through 12th-grade students. It will take place on January 25, 2025, and promises another round of friendly literary competition.
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