SHERBURNE – The Sherburne-Earlville Elementary School kicked off the beginning of its People As Reading Partners (PARP) program on Friday. For the next three weeks, students will be encouraged to read with a partner for at least 15 minutes a day, five days a week.

Last year the elementary students exceeded their reading goal of 33,000 minutes. “This year we’re going to push the envelope a littler farther. We’re going to shoot for 35,000 minutes of reading,” Elementary Principal John Plesniarski said. He announced this year’s theme will be “Heroes,” and introduced a few local individuals to speak to the students about what being a hero means to them.