Murals encourage students to read

Just before Christmas, Monroeville Elementary art teacher Brandi Goodwin started painting a mural with snow-capped mountains and an eagle, the school district's mascot, soaring above the landscape. She finished about two weeks ago, working on it for about 40 to 50 hours.

Goodwin wanted to brighten up the wall and encourage the school's kindergarten through third grade students to achieve their reading goals.

"I thought, 'Why don't I just make a mural?'" she said.

Each step equals 15 minutes of reading with each mountain representing 100 steps up to 800 steps, the highest goal. A footprint sticker marks how much reading every student has completed so far. At school, students get to read for about 30 minutes a day and are encouraged to read more at home.

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