The hallways of Rocky River High School were silent on Saturday, April 25, with only the faint sound of whispering in the classrooms as elementary students from across Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools competed in the Reading Rumble. The reading comprehension competition was put together by the CMS Advanced Studies team and challenges students to work together in teams to answer questions about books they’ve read throughout the year.

Students competed at the junior level (grades 2-3) in the morning and senior level (grades 4-5) later that afternoon. Working with their peers, students participated in three rounds of answering 25 trivia-style questions. 

“When you walk in the room, there’s so much energy,” said Trinette Atri, Advanced Studies instructional specialist. “The students have worked so hard to be here, and you can hear their little whispers as they’re discussing the answers. It’s really exciting.”

Aligning with Goals 1 and 2 of the 2024-29 CMS Strategic Plan — which have a focus on literacy — Reading Rumble is a great compliment to help build reading comprehension skills in a fun, collaborative and competitive setting.

This was also the first year CMS Advanced Studies centralized Reading Rumble to one location instead of the previous North and South groups. Atri said bringing the competition to one school allowed schools all across the district to come together and interact with one another as a “community of readers.”

“We’re looking at the goals to increase our reading proficiency in CCR (college and career readiness), and it really begins with a strong foundation in reading in the elementary years,” said Atri. ‘We have books that represent all different cultures, different types of main characters and text structures so that kids can be exposed to a wide variety of books and encourage and foster that love of reading. Reading Rumble really pushes our kids to be exposed to challenging literacy and enables kids to build their vocabulary, their reading comprehension and their critical thinking.”

Congratulations to the following teams and their placements, as well as all school teams who participated in the 2026 Reading Rumble.

 

Junior teams

Blue Pod:

First place: Hawk Ridge Elementary Team A

Second place: Ballantyne Elementary

Third place: J.V. Washam Elementary Team B

Fourth place: Eastover Elementary

Fifth place: J.V. Washam Elementary Team A

 

Green Pod:

First place: Winget Park Elementary Wolf Pack B

Second place: Winget Park Elementary Wolf Pack A

Third place: Highland Mill Montessori Team A

Fourth place: University Meadows Elementary Team A

Fifth place: Chantilly Montessori Team A

 

Red Pod:

First place: Lansdowne Elementary Team B

Second place: Knights View Elementary Team A

Third place: Bain Elementary School

Fourth place: Charles H. Parker Academic Center

Fifth place: Torrence Creek Elementary Team A

 

Yellow Pod:

First place: Davidson Elementary Team A

Second place: McKee Road Elementary Team A

Third place: Collinswood Language Academy Bookworms

Fourth place: Rea Farms STEAM Academy

Fifth place: Davidson Elementary Team B

 

Senior teams

Blue Pod:

First place: J.V. Washam Elementary Team A

Second place: Hawk Ridge Elementary Team B

Third place: Shamrock Gardens Elementary Team A

Fourth place: Hawk Ridge Elementary Team A

Fifth place: Elon Park Elementary Literacy Legends

 

Green Pod:

First place: Winget Park Elementary Wolves A

Second place: Winget Park Elementary Wolves B

Third place: Croft Community School

Fourth place: Oakhurst STEAM Academy

Fifth place: Montclaire Elementary/Briarwood Academy

 

Red Pod:

First place: Knights View Elementary Team B

Second place: Knights View Elementary Team A

Third place: Lansdowne Elementary Team B

Fourth place: Charles H. Parker Academic Center

Fifth place: Torrence Creek Elementary Team B

 

Yellow Pod:

First place: Huntersville Elementary Team A

Second place: Davidson Elementary Team A

Third place: McKee Road Elementary Team A

Fourth place: McKee Road Elementary Team B

Fifth place: Collinswood Language Academy Reading Jaguares