Read Across America Tour Rolls Into Oklahoma
By Brenda Álvarez
After covering almost 800 miles of ground, NEA’s Read Across America Cat-a-Van Tour 1 capped off a week’s worth of reading celebrations on Friday in Oklahoma with two school visits.Steed Elementary School in Midwest City was the first stop of the Oklahoma tour.
Firefighters from Midwest City Fire Department Ladder 2 passed out the red and white stovepipe hats to nearly 400 students, who received a special reading from David Tjaden, NEA’s student chair. Tjaden, who represents 60,000 student members at colleges and universities studying to become educators, read from The Cat in the Hat.
Special guest readers included Linda Hampton, president of the Oklahoma Education Association, and Roland Branham, officer for the Midwest City Police Department. The pair read from Green Eggs and Ham.
Branham was excited to join in Read Across America, “Usually, when we get ‘called’ it’s because someone is having a bad day, but being a part of events like this is great because we’re able to share with the community in good times.”
In the afternoon, the tour made the 40-mile trek to Horace Mann Elementary School in the city of Shawnee. Former First Lady Kim Henry served as a special guest reader.
“It’s very important to bring reading events like Read Across America into schools. There’s no more
How Constant Moving Affects Children’s School Lives
Students in foster care move schools at least once or twice a year, and by the time they age out of the system, over one third will have experienced five or more school moves. Children are estimated to lose four to six months of academic progress per move, which puts most foster care children years behind their peers. Falling behind isn’t the only problem with frequent school moves, however. Sourc
NY Mayor Seeks to Halt 3 Charter Schools From Moving Into Public Spaces
Mayor Bill de Blasio, seeking to curb the influence of outside providers of education, said on Thursday that he would block three charter schools from using space inside New York City public school buildings. Under the plan, Mr. de Blasio would reverse the decision of his predecessor, Michael R. Bloomberg, to provide free real estate to the schools so that they could open new programs this fall. S
March is Women’s History Month
The March 2014 Theme for Women’s History Month is Celebrating Women of Character, Courage, and Commitment. Examine the changing cultural perceptions of women in society and honor their contributions to all aspects of life in these lessons and activities.