Beginning October 19, 2026, all students and staff will stop each morning and read for pleasure. For the first month, the reading period will be 5 minutes of uninterrupted reading. Each month, the reading period will be increased by one minute. Before winter break, we will assess the initiative to make future plans. According to the NAEP, the percentage of fourth-grade students nationally who read for pleasure is at an all-time low in the United States. Carpenter is committed to building life-long readers, so we are excited to implement this new procedure into our school day.