Rio Rancho teacher takes top award in Club Read program

RIO RANCHO – Dion's Pizza and the Albuquerque Isotopes announced on Aug. 9 the winners of their Club Read summer reading program and among the honorees was Laraine Hostetler, librarian and educator at Stapleton Elementary School.

Hostetler won the 2024 Laura Rasmussen Love of Reading Award for submitting815 scorecards for her students, more than any other teacher.

“We are so excited to have won this contest and so thankful to Dion's for providing such an inspirational reading program to our students,” Hostetler told the Observer. “The excitement about earning books, free pizza, and going to support the Isotopes is so motivating for the children.”

The Laura Rasmussen Love of Reading Award was created in 2023, making Hostetler only the second teacher to receive the honor.

According to the news release, “The award was created in memory of Laura Rasmussen, who was an avid reader and worked for both Dion’s and the Isotopes before her passing in 2021. This award honors Laura’s memory and connects her love of reading with the many librarians who help promote literacy with students in our community every day.”

The Club Read program, now in its 21st year, broke participation records in 2024 with 7,693 students, preschool through 5th grade, from more than 250 schools redeeming completed scorecards. Each scorecard requires students to read six books.

Additionally, 1,615 students came back for seconds, turning in second Scorecards, the highest second-run participation level in the program’s history.

In total, organizers say students read 55,848 books for the Club Read program this summer.

“The continued success of Club Read reflects our ongoing commitment to fostering youth development in the communities we serve,” says Mark Herman, Dion’s CEO in a news release. “This increase in student participation is inspiring, as it shows our efforts to promote literacy are having an impact.”

Hoestetler told the Observerthis was a group effort and a group win.

“Stapleton has always participated in Club Read at some level, but this year we decided to try something different,” she said. “We decided that when Club Read started in April, we would all take part. Our younger kids worked hard during story-time in the library... and our older kids had a ‘Reader's Cafe’, where they spent their library times reading and discussing books in small groups.”

Students who completed a second scorecard were entered into a drawing for the grand prize, which included a custom Isotopes jersey, autographed baseball, Dion’s gift card, Isotopes Baseball Bucks, and more.

After all the scorecards were submitted, Hoestetler said they all went out for a congratulatory dinner.

“Our students celebrated [in May] finishing their scorecards with pizza, and it was amazing to come together as a school community to read for a purpose,” she said.

This year’s four Grand Prize winners drawn at random are:

Christopher Alverez, Kindergarten, Hubert Humphrey Elementary

Delilah Echiverria, 5th Grade, East San Jose Elementary

Ezra Summers, 2nd Grade, Helen Cordero Elementary

Roxy Racca, 3rd Grade, Homeschool