First Lady Katie O'Malley Visits Fourth Graders at Barclay Elementary

Encourages students to partake in summer reading; Kicks off Scholastic Summer Literacy Campaign

 

ANNAPOLIS, MD (May 28, 2009) – First Lady Katie O’Malley today kicked off a summer literacy campaign and visited with fourth graders at Barclay Elementary School.  During her visit, First Lady O’Malley read the first chapter of Clementine by Sara Pennypacker, and illustrated by Marla Frazee.  First Lady Katie O’Malley has joined 37 other U.S. Gubernatorial spouses to sign on as “Reading Ambassadors,” to encourage children in their states to read four or more books this summer.  In support of their role as Reading Ambassadors, Scholastic has donated 500 books to fourth and fifth grade students in each of the First Spouses’ states for the children to take home and read this summer.  Clementine was one of many books donated by Scholastic.

“It is an honor to join the other gubernatorial spouses across the nation as a Reading Ambassador for Scholastic’s summer literacy initiative, and an even greater honor to spend time with fourth graders at Barclay Elementary school in Baltimore City,” said First Lady Judge Katie O’Malley.  “Children’s literacy is vital for lifelong achievement and I encourage our children to read and learn not just during the summer, but all year long.”

“The Barclay School is delighted and most grateful to the First Lady of Maryland, Katie O’Malley, for teaming with Scholastic in providing 500 books for our 4th and 5th graders,” said Jenny Heinbaugh, Principal of Barclay Elementary.  “Our students have never been so excited for summer!  It is an awesome thing for Judge O’Malley, not only to take time to read to our students, but to help instill the love of reading and the thrill of a good summer book!”

Earlier this year, Governor O’Malley declared March “Read Across Maryland” month and launched a statewide literacy initiative to encourage students to read.  During the month of March, the Governor and members of his cabinet joined Maryland State Teachers’ Association leaders for classroom visits and reading assemblies at select schools across the state. 

Research shows that kids who don’t read four or more age-appropriate books over the summer are more likely to fall victim to the “Summer Slide,” the common loss of skills due to being out of school over the summer, resulting in lower test scores when kids return to school in the fall.  Research also shows that low income students experience an average summer learning loss in reading achievement of over two months, a greater loss than that of their higher income peers.  Kids’ frequency of reading books for fun drops off dramatically after age 8 – the most critical time for children to spend the summer practicing the reading skills they have developed in school. The primary reason these kids say they don’t read for fun more often is that they have trouble finding books they like.

First Lady Katie O’Malley is joined by Gubernatorial spouses from: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Guam, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, St. Thomas Virgin Islands, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. 

 In early January, Education Week Magazine ranked Maryland’s public schools number one in the nation.  Shortly thereafter, the College Board ranked Maryland’s high schools number one in the nation for Advanced Placement participation and achievement.

Scholastic, together with The National Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University and Save the Children, launched the Scholastic Summer Challenge on April 30, 2009, to encourage kids to read four more books over the summer to combat the “summer slide.”  All summer long, kids can log on to www.scholastic.com/summer to join a team, record the minutes they spend reading, and earn points for their team.

Scholastic Corporation is the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books and a leader in educational technology and children’s media.  Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children's books, magazines, technology-based products, teaching resources, television programming, film, videos and toys.  The Company distributes its products and services through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based book clubs and school-based book fairs, retail stores, schools, libraries, television networks and the Company’s Web site, www.scholastic.com. 

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