The next time Scott Davies makes a motivational deal with his pupils, he might want to do it in springtime.
The principal spent a frigid night on the roof of Harrington Park School in Harrington Park, N.J., after students met his challenge to read 10,000 books months before he expected them to.
The school has about 700 pupils in kindergarten through eighth grade.
Davies had agreed to let them choose their reward, and they decided to shave the school’s “HP” logo in his hair and send him on a rooftop camping excursion.
Davies, 40, headed up after school ended Thursday with a tent and a sleeping bag.
“I knew it would be cold. But I didn’t know it would be that cold,” he said.
Temperatures plunged into the 20s Thursday night and Friday morning, but Davies — somewhat steeled by several years of living in Montana — said he managed to get a few hours of sleep.
Pupils and their families bestowed him with hot chocolate and other goodies, stopping by into the night and early morning.
“I felt so bad. I was out there this morning with, like, tons of jackets on, and he was up there with a tent,” said Mary Wyley, a sixth grader.
As he thawed out, Davies said the chill was worth it.
“If it encourages them to read, then I would do it all again,” he said. “Just not tonight.”