The first week in March is always an exciting time for our Reading Partners’ students and program team. This year, each of our reading centers observed Read Across America Week, a nation-wide celebration of reading held during the birthday week of beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss. Reading Partners uses this week as an opportunity to showcase our students’ incredible reading progress by inviting all tutors, staff, and student’s family members to our celebrations.
As part of this year’s festivities, students were given specially chosen poems by authors, including Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky, to read aloud in front of their audiences. For many students, this marked the first time they were able to read with ease in front of such a large group. Parents in attendance felt a shared pride with our volunteer tutors and were invited to read Dr. Seuss books one-on-one with their child. One parent at Malcolm C. Hursey Elementary School shared:
Thank you for helping [my child] read. I work at night and can’t always be there to read with her at home. It means a lot to know she has someone working with her during the day. I can hear such a difference in her confidence when she reads.
Our program team and volunteers worked hard to make this celebration special for our students. Tutors provided snacks and drinks at each session and our AmeriCorps members helped lead the day’s events and activities. To see more pictures of Read Across America week, please visit our Facebook page.