West Valley students meet goal of reading program; principal to kiss school pig

LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz. (FOX 10) - A principal in the Litchfield School District is kissing the school year goodbye in an unusual way. Mrs. Naylor put out a big challenge to her students - they met it, so she had to pay up.

It's the moment they've worked for. Friday morning, the students of Scott Libby Elementary School in Litchfield cheered on as their principal, Corby Naylor, kissed a pig named Frank.

"We wanted to incentivize our students to read more through our accelerated reader program," Naylor said.

Mrs. Naylor says the accelerated reading program encourages fluency and comprehension through reading. It also includes a quiz when students finish the book, which they all seemed to thrive on.

"[I did it] because it helps me get smarter," a student said.

720 kindergarten - fifth graders pledged to read 130 million words this school year if Mrs. Naylor would kiss a pig.

"When they heard about the pig, they got a little motivation," said Bryan Wilson, a father of one of the students. "And then on the daily announcements, they would give updates and kind of motivate them for the final stretch here."

"All of them participate in some way or another, but some have read more words than others to contribute obviously depending on ability and grade," Naylor said.

When all was said and done, 133 million words were read and a very proud principal was pleased to pucker up.