<p>Students at Union Elementary School spent their summer reading their way to a championship.</p>
<p>The school read hundreds of hours over the summer, which clenched them the Explore Summer championship from the Johnson County Public Library.</p>
<p>The library awarded the school a $500 STEAM package courtesy of Endress+Hauser and a championship trophy for their efforts.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]
<p>Union Elementary had 42 percent of their students participate and 20 percent complete the program, each logging over 10 hours of reading time for the summer.</p>
<p>All of the school’s enrolled students read a total of 28,431 minutes.</p>
<p>One of the educational goals at the school is for teachers to foster a love for reading and to increase reading stamina, said Katie Smith, Union Elementary School’s principal.</p>
<p>Librarians visited the school in May to promote the program, which was open to students who lived in the library’s district, which includes most of Johnson County.</p>
<p>Educators heavily promoted the summer learning program on social media over the summer, Smith said.</p>
