OXFORD – Normally, teachers scold children for running in the halls, but at Oxford Primary School Wednesday, they were cheering them on. The run served as a reward for students who helped raise money for the Chenango United Way through the Miles of Quarters program.

“We broke another record,” said Primary School Principal Tim McDonald.

This year, students in grades pre-K through 4 raised $472.90 for the local charitable organization, $42.90 more than last year.

The students’ contribution brings the total raised in this year’s campaign to a whopping $464,572.90, just $427.10 short of United Way’s $465,000 goal.

The school has participated in the United Way fundraiser for several years. In past years, teachers have even incorporated the program into their math curriculum by tracking the “distance” based on the scale of one quarter equaling an inch. Some years the run has taken place indoors, others outdoors. Last year it was the teachers, not students doing laps.

Apparently the lure of running in the halls proved to be a good incentive. A record number of the school’s roughly 330 students participated this year.