Why We Celebrate Read Across America Week

Welcome to CCSD's Read Across America Week. Our event is in the spirit of the National Education Association's (NEA) historical celebration, but we've put our own CCSD spin on it to ensure that all our preK-12 schools can engage with the activities and feel connected to our district-wide celebration of literacy and a love of reading. Students are the heart of our work in CCSD and literacy is at the heart of all we do in education.

In 2021, a group of librarians, district curriculum leaders, and teachers joined together to plan a larger unified celebration of Read Across America Week for CCSD. The group was inspired by the NEA's goal of "celebrating a nation of diverse readers" throughout the year and wanted to create a week-long event that centered on students and the pure joy of reading. The educators secured virtual author visits to ensure all schools could experience the excitement of interacting with award-winning authors, created resources and activity ideas to connect the theme to all content areas, and added ideas for different literacy-themed spirit days.

Each year CCSD's Read Across America Week event has grown. More classes are joining the virtual author visits and taking advantage of recordings of previous author visits and local guest readers. Collections of theme-related resources and activities are available. An educator appreciation event has been added and expanded to include opportunities at three different local bookstores. Everything is intended to provide teachers and schools with the resources and flexibility to create a memorable experience for students that celebrates reading.

This Year's Theme: Reading is for Everyone

Connections to CCSD's Pillars, Goals, and Values

Read Across America Week is directly tied to and supports CCSD's Goals, Values, and Vision.

Pillars:

Pillar 1: Rigorous Grade-Level Instruction

Goals:

Goal 1: Literacy
Goal 3: College & Career Readiness

Values:

every child is supported in and out of school,
every child succeeds academically,
every child will graduate from high school prepared for employment in the modern workforce or credential completion or postsecondary degree, and
every student, teacher, principal, and staff member is valued and respected with the opportunity to learn every day.