Read Across America Day 2024 was a great success! Our Rotary Club has been celebrating the day at Latimer School, a Title 1 school in the Moreland District, serving grades transitional kindergarten through eighth, since 2015. Each year, Rotarians go into the classrooms, tell the students a little bit about Rotary, read a story to the students, and leave each student with a book to take home. Over the ten years we have been reading, our Club, through the Saratoga Rotary Charitable Foundation, has donated over 5,000 books to students!
Not only is this a wonderful day for our team of 26 volunteers, but we also make a significant contribution to literacy in our community. Reading is a critical skill for success in school and beyond. Yet many in our community still lack the education and resources to become proficient readers. According to Reading is Fundamental, in the United States,
- 34% of kindergarteners lack basic skills needed to learn to read
- 65% of fourth graders read below grade level
- Only 37% of graduating high school seniors read at or above reading proficiency
- And only 1 in 300 low-income children owns a book.
Rotarians show their love and support of reading by going to the classrooms and ensure that each student has a new book of their very own.
This year was a record year based on the number of wonderful volunteers that helped with this program! Special thanks to our readers and coordinators: Sheeba, Sohelia, Nada, Nancy, Barry, Terrie, Carol, Chuck & Marianne, Jim, Keong & Sehwa, Jo, Sangita & her in-laws, David, Archana, Javed, Larry, Phil, Maureen, Terrance, Mary Ellen, and Renee.