Book her: Principal to sleep on roof, dye her hair thanks to students’ reading

St. Gabriel School principal Sarah Watson of Indianapolis will sleep on the school’s roof and dye her hair purple as a result of the students reaching two reading goals this year. (Photo by John Shaughnessy)

By John Shaughnessy

The number of books that students needed to read to get their principal to sleep on the roof of their school:

1,000.

The number of books that students needed to read to get their principal to also dye her hair purple:

5,000.

The reaction of students at St. Gabriel School in Indianapolis when their principal, Sarah Watson, announced they had reached both goals:

Priceless.

“The students loved it,” says Elizabeth Bain, an eighth-grade student who is also the Student Council president. “They love the idea of her sleeping on the roof and dyeing her hair. It’s great motivation.”

On May 1, Watson plans to dye part of her hair purple. On the night of May 2, she plans to sleep on the roof of the school.

“A couple of the teachers have decided to join me on the roof,” Watson says. “We’ve also invited everybody from the school to camp out in the school’s field.”

It’s all part of Watson’s efforts to increase student reading after a new library was built at the school last summer.

“We wanted to make sure the library would be used to its full potential,” she says. “We just weren’t seeing students read for pleasure so we wanted to increase their reading at home.”

In October 2007, Watson set the challenge of having the students read 1,000 books.

“They did it in a month,” she recalls. “They wanted me to sleep out on the roof in the middle of winter. They thought that would be funny.”

Watson said she would wait for warmer weather. Still, she did give the students another challenge.

“I told them that if we can read 5,000 books, I’d dye part of my hair purple,” she says. “There was definitely applause and yelling.”

Watson says the inspiration for the reading challenges came from the book Miss Malarkey Leaves No Reader Behind by Judy Finchler.

“In the book, the student body was challenged to read 1,000 books, and the principal would sleep on the roof and dye his toupee purple. Miss Malarkey is one of the teachers,” Watson says.

The school has charted the number of books the students have read by using small pink symbols of gators, the school’s mascot. The gator symbols fill the walls outside the principal’s office.

“I really didn’t think we’d meet the goal of 5,000 books,” Watson says. “I wasn’t worried about dyeing my hair, but it’s exciting to see the excitement to read.”

The principal has the same reaction to sleeping on the roof and getting her hair dyed purple.

“I’m actually kind of excited about it,” she says.

The challenges are part of the fun approach that Watson brings to education. When the school had a fundraiser this year that involved selling pies, she agreed to have a pie thrown in her face by the student who sold the most.

“It’s been a crazy year for me,” she says with a smile. †