Knights, dragons and fairies roamed the halls of Broad View Elementary School Thursday night, and they all had one quest— to promote literacy and family engagement.

“Any time you can get a parent to come in the evening with their children, we’re very excited,” said Lynn Goebel, Title 1 teacher at Broad View and organizer of the event.

The school’s Literacy Night was funded by the federal Title 1 program, which aims to to improve education for disadvantaged students. A math night will be held in March, with both events focused on facilitating parental involvement in their child’s education.

Students, many of whom dressed as fairy tale characters, had 12 themed activities to choose from when they arrived at the school. Families followed the map to rooms where they could enjoy the reading of stories such as “Kate and the Beanstalk,” “The Wolf’s Story” or “The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs”— all retellings of classic tales. Other activities included a scavenger hunt, a book exchange, and story writing.

The little princesses, witches and pirates were also fed a “royal feast” and given the opportunity to ask for three wishes from Fairy Godmother/Principal Jenny Mouw. Wishes ranged from new kitten to iPhone 8 to a baby sister, said Mouw.

This is the second Literacy Night the school has held; last year’s event, which was safari themed, was well received by the families, according to Goebel. Fairy tale night seemed to be a success as well, and Mouw said the students particularly liked the costume element of it— a first for the event.

“I just picked out the frilliest dress,” said second grader Saren Fowler. Fowler enjoyed the night and enjoys reading overall, especially the “Magic Tree House” books.

A survey will go out to see how the families felt about the evening. Overall, the night ran smoothly, despite some uncertainty around how many people would attend or how the new activities would pan out.

“I feel like I’m planning a large birthday party for the whole school,” said Goebel.

Madyson White listens to her dad Ray read a version of Cinderella Thursday at Broad View Elementary’s Literacy Night. The event aimed to facilitate parents’ involvement in their child’s education and promote reading among the students. Photo by Laura Guido/Whidbey News-Times

Lelia Brown reads to (from left) Faith, Chanel and Aubrey Brown during Broad View Elementary School’s Literacy Night Thursday. Students and teachers were encouraged to dress up to match the fairy tale theme of the evening. Photo by Laura Guido/Whidbey News-Times