Local school celebrates Reading Across America Day

Why do you think today, March 2nd, is Read Across America Day?

[Cat in the Hat Intro Music]

That’s the intro for cat in the hat, a cartoon based off the story by Dr. Seuss. The great children’s book author. And today, March 2nd, is his birthday! That’s why the National Education Association chose this day to mark Read Across America Day!

[Rosero McCoy reading to kids]

At 32nd St School in L.A. the kids are gathered around to listen to Rosero McCoy. He’s a well-known choreographer who’s worked with Outkast and Usher. But those fancy gigs don’t satisfy McCoy the way “ushering in the future” does.

Rosero McCoy: Coming and reading to these elementary schools today is everything. I mean, they are definitely the future. It actually wakes me up and brings me back to a time when reading was something that I really enjoyed doing. So it was great. It was a great opportunity for me. And I got, I think, even more out of it than they did.

[McCoy reading to kids]

Carolina Lima: We’re celebrating reading. It’s the celebration of reading.

Carolina Lima is the Assistant Principal at 32nd St School. She works hard to instill in these kids a passion for reading especially in times when kids can be so distracted by the internet and social media.

Lima: Fostering that love for reading. Promoting that love for reading. You know, certainly we want to we do that year round, but we really highlight it during this week.

Read Across America Day or Week or Month. It’s all good!

Krystal Starr: We also try to make it clear that the library isn’t always a quiet space because learning isn’t always a quiet activity.

Krystal Starr is a teacher librarian 32nd St. She is not one of those “Shhhhh! This is a library.” librarians. Starr says, that’s not how kids today read.

Starr: Learning happens out loud sometimes. Just really trying to make the students understand those things makes them more curious about reading and it gets them more excited about literacy in general.

Starr also encourages parents to read with their kids and she welcomes reading in any language.

Starr: It’s really important that parents read to their children and not just in English, that parents read to their children whatever languages are spoken at home. It’s important that we as a society teach children, especially that reading means access.

[McCoy reading to kids]

Rosero McCoy is finishing up the story he’s reading to the kids. He has given them access.

McCoy: the beauty of reading is something that you can get lost in and take you places that you may not ever get to travel to, you know, or people’s experiences in life that really will help you. And when you take that time out to just read for yourself. I just think that the knowledge that comes from it is priceless.

No matter what age, all of us can learn a thing or two from reading.

[McCoy reading to kids]