Teacher's Shaved Head Gives Kids Incentive

Kids at Keysor Elementary School in Kirkwood have an added incentive to participate in the 2004-2005 Read, Right, Run program. If 75 kids take part, teacher Dryden Wells has agreed to shave his head.

David McCoy

The Energizer Read, Right, & Run is an area program that encourages kids to read a book, do a good deed and run at least a mile every week for 26 weeks.

The climax of the program will come April 8-10, 2005, when the St. Louis Marathon holds its Family Fitness Weekend.

(For information on how to get involved in Read, Right & Run, the Fitness Weekend or in adult marathon events, visit www.stlouismarathon.com.)

Bailey McCoy

Ten-year-old David McCoy and his 7year-old sister, Bailey, are taking part along with their mother, Jennifer, a kindergarten teacher at Keysor. Ms. McCoy will be participating along with Keysor kids in a relay event on the April weekend.

Bailey said she and her brother "sometimes run with our mother at night" to meet the weekly running requirement for Read, Right & Run.

David also earns running credit by competing in other events. He finished 9th in his age class in the 3-mile Turkey Day run in November. That race is part of Turkey Day Weekend, featuring the Kirkwood-Webster Groves high school football game.

Both Bailey and David participated in the Read, Right & Run last year.

Among her good deeds, Bailey said she washes the dishes when she goes to see her grandmother, who lives near them.

Her favorite book so far is one in the Junie B. Jones series. Bailey said the series features Junie as a "naughty girl." This one dealt with Junie misunderstanding her mother when she tells her she's going to have a baby brother or sister.

Junie thinks her mother was telling her she was getting a present. She spends a lot of time searching the house to see where the present was.

David's good deeds include raking leaves at his grandmother's house.

His favorite book so far has been "The Million Dollar Kick." That's about a guy who gets to try a long-distance soccer kick to win a million dollars.

Elly and Nina Golterman

Sisters Elly and Nina Golterman are Keysor kids who also run at night with their mother, Nancy. Elly said, "We usually run five or six blocks around the neighborhood."

Keysor kids file reports on their running, reading and good deeds to physical education teacher Robin Ehrlich.

Ten-year-old Elly said her good deeds included cleaning the whole second floor of the family's home. "I vacuumed, dusted and picked up all the clothes," she said.

Her favorite book so far is "The Chinese Cinderella." This is a story similar to the original Cinderella classic but set in China.

Seven-year-old Nina said she also helps clean the downstairs of her home. But, her main good deed involves the daily feeding of the family's two dogs.

Nina admits she can't always keep up with her mother and sister on their nighttime runs. But, Elly chipped in to say, "Nina is pretty fast."

Abby Lewis

Eleven-year-old Abby Lewis is competing in Read, Right & Run for the second year. She said she tries to run every weekend at the nearby Kirkwood High School track.

However, she said she earns running credit for participating in other sports. For instance, she gets a one-mile credit for a soccer practice and credit for two miles for a game.

Among her good deeds are cleaning bedrooms of her mother, father and three brothers.

Her favorite book was "Out of the Dark." She said it was a story about a girl's grandmother who is haunted by a ghost out for revenge. The ghost finally goes away when her original grave is dug up "so she can be at peace," Abby said.

Carly Schmiedeskamp

Eleven-year-old Carly Schmiedeskamp also gets some of her running credit by participating in another sport. She gets two miles of credit for a basketball game and one mile for practice.

Because she is tall (5'2"), Carly said she plays "under the basket" most of the time. That's for her ability to rebound.

Her good deeds involve work around the house. That includes taking out the trash, using the dishwasher and making beds for her two younger brothers.

But, one extra job is recruiting more kids for the Read, Right & Run program. They need about 15 more kids to reach 75 participants so teacher Dryden Wells will shave his head.