Level Up Reading Challenge coming to New Mexico classrooms

NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – The New Mexico Public Education Department (NM PED) is bringing back an interactive reading activity for the 2024-2025 school year. It’s called the Level Up Reading Challenge.

The initiative is an effort to encourage students to read, and it all starts with mascot visits. Ralph the Reader and Ricky the Roadrunner will visit schools and task students with the reading challenge. Every month, the two students with the most reading growth will be recognized for their hard work and named “Superhero Readers of the Month.”

“Last year, we saw an incredible response from young readers who were inspired by Ralph and Ricky,” said Public Education Secretary Arsenio Romero. “We can’t wait to see our community of superhero readers embark on another epic reading adventure.”

In the 2023-2024 school year, the department said 70 schools participated in the challenge.

For this year’s challenge, public K-5 classrooms will be given a challenge kit featuring books, Ralph and Ricky figures, a classroom poster, class stickers, and data charts.

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