INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Glen Acres Elementary School in Lafayette was named the overall winner of the NCAA Read to the Final Four bracket challenge this year. Third-grade teacher Paige Abdon led the effort, which included more than 300 schools and 20,000 student readers across Indiana.

The literacy initiative, which debuted a decade ago, aims to reverse declining reading rates following the pandemic. According to program data, Indiana’s reading proficiency improved from 82.5% in 2023 to 87.3% in 2025. The increase follows a commitment of more than $80 million in grant funding through the Lilly Endowment’s Science of Reading initiative to support evidence-based teaching methods.

Abdon, a third-grade teacher at Glen Acres Elementary, first learned about the competition th...