>> BALDWIN HIGH SCHOOL
The Baldwin High School Reading Bowl Team took first place in the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl region championship and is set to advance to state on March 9.
The Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl was started by Helen Ruffin, a library media specialist at Sky Haven Elementary School in DeKalb County, in 1986. When it was started, the competition was called The Reading Bowl and was led in a competitive gaming format that questioned students about the content of the 20 Georgia Book Award Nominees each year. According to the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl website, Ruffin was inspired to start the competition after serving on the Georgia Book Award Nomination Committee at the University of Georgia, in 1985.
In 2000, after Ruffin’s retirement, the DeKalb County Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl was formed. Then in 2003-2004 the Georgia Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl Steering Committee was created and composed of members from The Georgia Association of Educators and the Georgia Library Media Association. According to the website, over the last few years 600 schools throughout Georgia have held competitions at the local school district level and have registered online for regional competitions.
“This will be the first year that Baldwin High School is advancing to state,” said Jennifer Veazy, region coordinator for the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl and Baldwin High School AP Literature teacher.
According to Veazy, Pam Longino has been the coach of the reading bowl team for over 11 years and has led them close to victory at the region championship multiple times. Last year, the team tied for first but had to take second place after a tiebreaker for who would advance to state.
“That loss last year was bittersweet. The students made it to first place but ultimately fell short after the tie breaker. If it had been before COVID-19, then they would have advanced to state but since the pandemic, only one team is allowed to advance to state,” said Veazy. “So, it was so exciting to see the Baldwin team win this year.”
To prepare for the region championship, the team was given the 20-book list last summer to begin reading. Then, in August, books were assigned between the team members so there was a member who could be an ‘expert’ of that book when entering the competition. The team formerly met once or twice a month during fall semester to discuss the books and practice and then met more frequently in January approaching the competition in February.
“Our team worked really hard with Pam Longino to prepare for the regional competition and excelled at region,” said Veazy. “I am so proud of their efforts.”
The Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl region championship was online, and the state competition will also be online on March 9. Veazy hopes the team can continue to thrive at state and take first for Baldwin County High School.