Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl

History

Mrs. Helen Ruffin, a dynamic and innovative Library Media Specialist at Sky Haven Elementary School in DeKalb County, created a unique reading competition in 1986. It was called The Reading Bowl and, in a competitive game format, questioned students about the content of the 20 Georgia Book Award Nominees each year. Her vision was to have teams, composed of students from different schools, compete to test their knowledge of the selected books.

This idea came to her after serving on the Georgia Book Award Nomination Committee at the University of Georgia in 1985. This book award began in the Department of Language Education at the University of Georgia’s College of Education and its purpose, according to their website is, “to foster a love of reading in the children of Georgia, and to introduce them to books of literary excellence.” From this experience, Mrs. Ruffin shared her vision with her colleagues who embraced the idea and helped her press forward.

In 2000, after Mrs. Ruffin’s retirement, several Library Media Specialists formed the DeKalb County Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl (HRRB). Other school districts in Georgia heard about this unique reading initiative and soon wanted to join in the competition.

In 2003-2004 the Georgia Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl (HRRB) Steering Committee was created comprised of members from The Georgia Association of Educators (GAE) and the Georgia Library Media Association (GLMA).

With the help of this Steering Committee, the Georgia Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl (HRRB) is now open to students in grades K-12 across the state. Students read and are quizzed on the books nominated for the Georgia Children's Picturebook Award (Grades K-3), Georgia Children's Book Award (Grades 4-5 and 6-8), and the Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers (Grades 9-12). These annual booklists are created and controlled by the award committees.

Today, the Georgia HRRB includes five geographic competition regions; East, Metro, Middle, South, and West. All school districts in Georgia are assigned to one of these regions.

Each year, over 700 schools throughout Georgia register online to compete at the local, regional, and state competitions.

We Salute Mrs. Helen Ruffin, Founder of the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl and the HRRB Steering Committee members for their contributions to the literary development of Georgia students!

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