Principal to jump out of plane after Fort Bragg elementary school students 'Read Across America'
Bowley Elementary School Principal Latonya Leeks will jump out of a plane on Friday after students met their goal of reading for 4,887 minutes.
Posted — UpdatedSo she's taking her thrill-seeking sensibilities to new heights.
Leeks and the staff at Bowley conjured up the proposal as an incentive to get the kids to read more.
"If each grade level could read 4,887 minutes, let's just say we set up this tandem jump and do it for the kids" Leeks said. "I got a committee together, they looked at the logistics of it. We announced it to the kids and it took off like wildfire."
Last month, the staff announced to students they had met their goal. Leeks was was glad to see the children gravitate toward books and spend less time watching television or playing video games.
Leeks, who recently turned 50, wanted to something fun for each month of the school year. She was born at Fort Bragg and grew up in Fayetteville. Leeks said she's tried to be a risk-taker in life and this speaks to that in doing something that she's never done.
"I'm a risk-taker by nature and it's part of my leadership style," Leeks said. "I would say thrills thrill me. The bigger, the better"
She's also jumping in recognition of her father, James Leeks, who was in the Army and routinely jumped from planes. James died unexpectedly in 2004, but Latonya still clings to his memory.
"He always told me there was absolutely no feeling like that feeling when you're free-falling from the plane," Leeks said.
The jump was originally scheduled for April 28, but bad weather pushed it back to Friday, when conditions should stay dry. The only thing falling from the sky will be Leeks.
"We'll just see what happens when I'm in the air," Leeks said when asked about a possible fear of heights. "Jumping out of a plane is going to be thrilling but I have a feeling that my tandem partner is going to have to have a nice little talk with me once I'm on the plane."
Related Topics
• Credits
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.