The number of pages Stillwater Christian School students are reading is on the rise from elementary through high school.

Stillwater students have been challenged to meet a weekly quota in the number of pages they read over a span of 16 weeks as part of the Ben Carson Reading Club competition.

The club kicked off Nov. 18 during the National Ben Carson Reading Day, an annual literacy event with an assembly that had students stomping their feet, cheering and clapping — revved up for some friendly competition between the grade levels. Administration, faculty members and even parents also were encouraged to participate.

Carson, a world-renowned pioneer in pediatric neurosurgery (particularly in separating conjoined twins), professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and author, is this year’s keynote speaker for Stillwater’s annual “For Such as Time As This” fundraising banquet, which will be March 13 at the Flathead County Fairgrounds Trade Center.

Stillwater’s reading club is modeled after a similar challenge Carson received from his mother when he was in fifth grade. Carson was a struggling student with low self-esteem being raised by a single parent in poverty.

His mother, who had a third-grade education, saw her son struggling and put him to the task of reading two books a week and writing summaries while limiting television viewing. From there, Carson took flight in his quest for achievement.

“His mom based this on the fact that God had a plan for Carson’s life and Ben started believing this, too. In a year and a half he went from the bottom of his class to the top of his class,” Stillwater Elementary principal Tim Anderson said.

“What happened is this: He discovered he had a love for learning he never knew. The more he read, the more he wanted to know, the more he realized he could accept big challenges.”

The Ben Carson Reading Club competition entered day five on Friday. Librarian Becky Neumann said bookmarks students use to record their progress are steadily coming in. Neumann said that many of the bookmarks she has received so far are from second- and fifth-graders.

“If we took young people who excel at the highest level and put them on the same kind of pedestal as all the all-state football players and all-state basketball players and give them the same kind of recognition, imagine what a profound effect it would have,” Neumann said.

The book club is a platform for that recognition, she said. Stillwater students who are able to complete the reading challenge for all 16 weeks will be recognized at the March fundraising event and Anderson said he hopes to see a lot of students be part of that.

Every time students meet the page quota at the end of seven days, they also will be entered in a drawing for a Kindle — one per the elementary, middle school and high school levels.

The page quota ranges from 64 pages for kindergarteners to 250 pages for high schoolers. Staffers and parents are challenged to read two books per week as inspiration for students.

One wrench thrown into the challenge is that students may only watch a maximum of three television shows per week.

After the assembly, a group of sixth-graders pondered what would be more difficult —  reading more or watching less television. The opinion was mixed.  Some students said their families didn’t own a TV, some said they weren’t avid readers and for others it was a matter of time between studying and other activities.

For the March dinner event, people may purchase tables of eight starting at $800 ($100 per seat) or sponsorship tables from $2,500 to $10,000 to attend “For Such a Time As This an evening with Ben Carson.”

Individual tickets to the event are available for $125 each and include dinner. Those interested in purchasing a table or tickets should contact Craig Hunnicutt at 752-4400 or [email protected]

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at [email protected]