The gap between elementary and high school students in Fairbury was bridged by a limousine.
The top two accelerated readers in each of the 18 classes at Prairie Central Elementary had the opportunity to ride in a limo thanks to Pamela Deaton with Health Markets Insurance Agency.
“I’m excited. I loaded the limo with kid-friendly snacks that the school approves,” Deaton said before an afternoon of chauffeuring children.
PCE teachers Susan Fehr and Shannon Brown spearheaded the effort, along with Deaton, to get the high school involved so the students rode the limo across town to greet their district peers with high fives and even a few dance moves.
“We are trying to bridge that gap between the high school and grade school and make it more of a community thing,” Fehr explained.
The Accelerated Reader program encourages kids to enjoy reading. Several books in the school library are considered “AR” which means students can read those books and take a short quiz to be sure they understand the story before earning points.
“Every trimester that we have, they get to set a goal to meet. If they meet that goal, then they get rewarded,” added Fehr.
Fehr appreciates the community stepping up with the rewards. A fire truck and DJ came to the school earlier this year and future opportunities will likely involve inflatables and an ambulance.
Once the elementary students entered the doors of PCHS, they were greeted by a couple of high school students near a banner hanging on the wall celebrating their success.
“We are talking about games just to make their day,” said high school student Brandon Hoselton.
Student Logan Deacetis enjoyed hanging out with the youngsters for a few minutes.
“Everyone shares a common interest with games nowadays so it’s easy to hang out and talk with them.”
The excitement could be seen on the elementary students’ faces upon their return to PCE as they talked about the limo ride all the way up the sidewalk into the school.
“Well, I like the fact we had food on it. That was really nice,” said one student. “We got to meet two of the best wrestlers in the state.”
Another student could be heard saying she liked everything about the limo ride.
