1<\/span> | 6\t <\/div>\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\t Previous Arrow<\/title>\n\t\t\t <g id=\"Northforker\" stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\n\t\t\t\t <g id=\"Pages\/Desktop\/Homepage\" transform=\"translate(-992.000000, -4701.000000)\" fill=\"#1E201D\" fill-rule=\"nonzero\">\n\t\t\t\t\t <g id=\"Group-2\" transform=\"translate(0.000000, 4158.500000)\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <g id=\"Group-18\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <g id=\"Group-71\" transform=\"translate(0.000000, 40.000000)\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <g id=\"Group-65\" transform=\"translate(905.000000, 501.000000)\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <path d=\"M87.9392107,2.15039292 C87.7281189,1.94986903 87.3767914,1.94986903 87.1583188,2.15039292 C86.9472271,2.34414235 86.9472271,2.66660645 87.1583188,2.85990425 L89.4708158,7 L87.1583188,11.1328697 C86.9472271,11.3333936 86.9472271,11.6563093 87.1583188,11.8496071 C87.3767914,12.050131 87.728611,12.050131 87.9392107,11.8496071 L92.8361456,7.35498148 C93.0546181,7.16123205 93.0546181,6.83876795 92.8361456,6.64547015 C92.0545483,5.92801314 91.4683503,5.38992038 91.0775516,5.03119188 C90.3801425,4.39101433 89.3340289,3.43074801 87.9392107,2.15039292 Z\" id=\"Path\"><\/path>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/g>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/g>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/g>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/g>\n\t\t\t\t <\/g>\n\t\t\t <\/g>\n\t\t <\/svg>\n\t\t\n\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\n\t\t<button class=\"mag-next\">\n\t\t <svg viewBox=\"0 0 6 11\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\n\t\t\n\t\t\t <title>Next Arrow<\/title>\n\t\t\t <g id=\"Northforker\" stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\n\t\t\t\t <g id=\"Pages\/Desktop\/Homepage\" transform=\"translate(-992.000000, -4701.000000)\" fill=\"#1E201D\" fill-rule=\"nonzero\">\n\t\t\t\t\t <g id=\"Group-2\" transform=\"translate(0.000000, 4158.500000)\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <g id=\"Group-18\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <g id=\"Group-71\" transform=\"translate(0.000000, 40.000000)\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <g id=\"Group-65\" transform=\"translate(905.000000, 501.000000)\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <path d=\"M87.9392107,2.15039292 C87.7281189,1.94986903 87.3767914,1.94986903 87.1583188,2.15039292 C86.9472271,2.34414235 86.9472271,2.66660645 87.1583188,2.85990425 L89.4708158,7 L87.1583188,11.1328697 C86.9472271,11.3333936 86.9472271,11.6563093 87.1583188,11.8496071 C87.3767914,12.050131 87.728611,12.050131 87.9392107,11.8496071 L92.8361456,7.35498148 C93.0546181,7.16123205 93.0546181,6.83876795 92.8361456,6.64547015 C92.0545483,5.92801314 91.4683503,5.38992038 91.0775516,5.03119188 C90.3801425,4.39101433 89.3340289,3.43074801 87.9392107,2.15039292 Z\" id=\"Path\"><\/path>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/g>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/g>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/g>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/g>\n\t\t\t\t <\/g>\n\t\t\t <\/g>\n\t\t <\/svg>\n\t\t\n\t\t<\/button>\n\t <\/div>\n\t \n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"northforker-gallery-captions\">\n\t \t\t<span slideKey=\"0\">Roanoke Ave. Elementary Principal Thomas Payton’s hair before the cut. (Credit: Jahquel Blount)<\/span>\n\t \t\t<span slideKey=\"1\">Barber Rashad Goff did the honors at Roanoke Elementary Friday (Credit: Jahquel Blount) <\/span>\n\t \t\t<span slideKey=\"2\"><\/span>\n\t \t\t<span slideKey=\"3\"><\/span>\n\t \t\t<span slideKey=\"4\"><\/span>\n\t \t\t<span slideKey=\"5\"><\/span>\n\t \t<\/div>\n\t\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>For 20 years, Roanoke Avenue Elementary School principal Thomas Payton has gone to extreme lengths to instill a love of reading in his students. His annual reading challenge isn\u2019t part of the job description \u2014 it\u2019s a tradition built on creativity, enthusiasm and quite a bit of good-natured self-sacrifice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The tradition, like Mr. Payton, came out of the sprawling Clark County school district in Las Vegas \u2014 the fifth largest in the nation \u2014 which holds an annual weeklong reading campaign around the March 2 birthday of beloved children\u2019s book author Dr. Seuss, born Theodor Seuss Geisel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For a week, the entire school logs every minute spent reading, whether in classes, at lunch, on the bus or at home. Schools set six- and seven-figure goals, and this year\u2019s goal for Roanoke Avenue students was to collectively read 90,000 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was really big in Vegas,\u201d Mr. Payton said. \u201cSo when I came to Riverhead, I thought it would be cool to bring it with me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It started simply enough. \u201cThe first year, I got my head shaved and that was it,\u201d Mr. Payton recalled last week, moments before settling into a barber\u2019s chair on stage. \u201cThe next year, I dressed as a chicken and did the chicken dance. From there, it just kept growing. I dressed as a clown. One year, I rode in on a tricycle. Another year, the kids turned me into a human [ice cream] sundae. Every time, I had to make it bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When Mr. Payton transferred to Roanoke Avenue in 2010, the tradition came with him. Over the years, he\u2019s faced off in a lip sync battle with a fourth-grade teacher, been bombarded with water balloons and been <a href=\".timesreview.com\/2023\/03\/115197\/students-duct-tape-principal-to-wall-at-roanoke-ave-elementary-school-their-reward-for-a-stellar-reading-week\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">duct-taped to a wall<\/a>. Last year, he was happy to be slathered head to toe in Silly String. This year, he circled back to the head-shave \u2014 this time with a twist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI had [barber] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/rashadthebarber\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Rashad [Goff<\/a>] shave the word \u2018READ\u2019 into my head,\u201d Mr. Payton said proudly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This year, Roanoke Avenue students didn\u2019t just meet their goal, they obliterated it. School officials confirmed that students logged a staggering 127,000 minutes \u2014 an average of about five and a half hours of reading per child. While, there were carve-outs for the youngest students \u2014 those who can\u2019t yet read could be read to \u2014 Mr. Payton said parents signed off on their children\u2019s reading logs every night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a legit log,\u201d Mr. Payton emphasized. \u201cParents sign off on it. These kids did their reading.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The effort was bolstered by creative evening events, including a Tuesday night \u201cCurl Up with a Good Book\u201d session with milk and cookies, where parents and students read together. Wednesday featured the school\u2019s first-ever family game night, designed to get kids off screens and engaged in interactive activities \u2014 many of which, of course, involved books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By Friday, anticipation had reached fever pitch. The entire student body packed into the auditorium, their chants of \u201cShave your head! Shave your head!\u201d rivaling the energy of a championship game. Teachers egged on the crowd from the aisles. Sections of students clumsily attempted “the wave.” It was a scene of pure, boisterous joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Members Worldwide \u2014 a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/officialmbrs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">videography team<\/a> of college students, including videographers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/officialmbrs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Curtis and Daytwon Spruill<\/a>\u00a0and photographer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/vznjah\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jahquel Blount<\/a> \u2014 captured the excitement in a video shared with Riverhead News-Review readers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Riverhead principal promotes the \u2018shear\u2019 joy of reading\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rBayLP3u6ys?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Credit: courtesy Curtis and Daytwon Spruill)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Third-grade teacher Christine Santos’ class logged the most reading minutes schoolwide \u2014 more than 13,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI tried to base everything this week off of reading,” she said, “whether it was working in groups, reading an article and then working together. I had them read their math questions, and they did a math quiz during reading. I had them do funny reading as a period, and then they worked themselves on independent reading with books and Scholastic News stories.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mr. Payton said each September, the first question on students\u2019 minds is what he\u2019s going to do for reading week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf I can put a little incentive in to pump them up, I\u2019m certainly going to do that,\u201d he said, adding that last week, the excitement in the air was palpable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou see kids coming back from lunch, they\u2019re walking by our office, waving and making motions like they\u2019re pretending to shave my head,” the principal said. “They\u2019re just having a ball with it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 20 years of reading week challenges, Mr. Payton noted, his kids have \u201cnever missed their mark.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think I\u2019m going to have to go over 100,000 minutes, because the last few years they\u2019ve hit 120,000, 130,000, 150,000.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ms. Santos said it\u2019s not just the kids who are competing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a great tradition \u2014 super exciting \u2014 and it\u2019s always great to have them work towards something,: she explained. “But, secretly, we all like to compete at the grade levels and Ms. [Donna] Verbeck is our veteran teacher and I always try my hardest to see if I can beat her, and I finally beat her this year.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last Friday afternoon, the Roanoke Avenue Elementary School auditorium was a madhouse. Hundreds of students rattled their seats and erupted in cheers, their voices bouncing off the walls. The cause of all the excitement? Watching their principal … get a haircut. For 20 years, Roanoke Avenue Elementary School principal Thomas Payton has gone to extreme…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2010,"featured_media":125149,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1743,35],"tags":[13186,8775,3932,13402],"coauthors":[16829],"class_list":["post-125134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-story","category-news","tag-premium","tag-reading","tag-roanoke-avenue-elementary-school","tag-thomas-payton"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Riverhead principal promotes the \u2018shear\u2019 joy of reading \u00a0 - Riverhead News Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For 20 years, Roanoke Elementary School principal Thomas Payton has gone to extreme lengths to instill a love of reading in his students.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2025\/03\/125134\/riverhead-principal-promotes-the-shear-joy-of-reading\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Riverhead principal promotes the \u2018shear\u2019 joy of reading \u00a0 - 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