CTS Celebrates ‘Reading Across America’ with Bethune Elementary

This past week, Called to Serve’s Executive Director, Jeffrey Harley, spoke to students at Bethune Elementary School.

Reading Across America is an annual event celebrated on March 2nd, which is also Dr. Seuss's birthday. This event is organized by the National Education Association (NEA) and is aimed at encouraging children and adults to read more. The event started in 1998 and has since become a nationwide event that celebrates the joy of reading.

The goal of Reading Across America is to promote literacy and reading as a fun and enjoyable activity. The event also highlights the importance of reading in education and in everyday life.

Working with Bethune Elementary School, CTS can continue to instill shared beliefs and initiatives with our local community. These include:

Promoting literacy: One of the primary goals of Reading Across America is to promote literacy, particularly among children. By promoting reading and literacy, Reading Across America helps to level the playing field and give children in these communities a chance to improve their skills and succeed in school.

Increasing access to books: Access to books is critical for improving literacy skills. Unfortunately, many communities like ours lack access to quality books and libraries. Reading Across America helps to increase access to books by encouraging schools and libraries to hold book drives and provide free books to children. This can make a significant difference in the lives of children who might not otherwise have access to quality books.

Promoting diversity and representation: Reading Across America emphasizes the importance of diversity and representation in literature. By promoting books written by and about people of color, Reading Across America helps to ensure that children in these communities can see themselves and their experiences reflected in the books they read.

Encouraging parental involvement: Parental involvement in education is critical for student success. Reading Across America encourages parents to read with their children and make reading a part of their daily routine. This can help to improve literacy skills and foster a love of reading that can last a lifetime.

Reading Across America has the potential to make a significant impact on our community by promoting literacy, increasing access to books, promoting diversity and representation, and encouraging parental involvement in education. By continuing to support this initiative and promoting literacy and reading, we can help to create a brighter future for all children, regardless of their background or circumstances.