News Release

From Coast to Coast
NEA’s Read Across America
Was the Most!

Readers young and old, sports celebrities, recording stars, politicians from both sides of the aisle and businesspeople joined teachers, parents, librarians and school employees to make year seven of NEA’s Read Across America the biggest and best ever.    

NEA President Reg Weaver says: "Oh, the places we went.  Readers were on planes, in blimps, at football stadiums, in locker rooms, in classrooms, libraries, homes, community centers and in parks. 

They spent the day learning the fun of the written word and paying homage to one of the greatest authors to ever introduce the pleasure of reading to young people."    

A sampling of events that took place in communities across the nation include:    

-- In Santa Clarita, Calif., more than 1,000 students and members of the community broke the Guinness World Record for the most people reading aloud at one time.    

-- In Hinton, Okla., an elementary school principal rewarded his students for reading 25,000 books by parachuting out of a plane.  His students, wearing the famous hat of the cat, spelled out "We Read" on the ground to welcome their leader back to earth!    

-- In Santa Fe, the Cat in the Hat paid a visit to both houses of the New Mexico legislature as they passed a resolution declaring March 2 NEA’s Read Across America Day.    

-- Showgirls from the Tropicana in Las Vegas traded their feathered finery for a red and white stovepipe hat and read with schoolchildren at Fife Elementary School.    

-- "American Idol" Ruben Studdard traveled back to Birmingham, Ala., to read to his mother’s second grade class.    

-- In Manhattan, players from every major metro-area sports team announced the creation of a coalition to promote children’s literacy.    

-- In Norfolk, Va., the USS Normandy was rechristened the USS Readership as sailors and crew read with area youngsters.    

-- A Chicago restaurant created special menu items for NEA’s Read Across America and the Seussentennial.  Among them: Green Eggs and Ham (spinach shirred eggs, Serrano ham, brioche and beurre blanc); One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish is Scottish salmon and blue fin tuna carpaccio; and Who-Roast Beef (spit-roasted prime rib).    

-- RCA recording star Clay Aiken performed for school kids in Philadelphia on the Temple University campus.    

-- Henry Winkler led the reading at the Los Angeles Airport Hilton for a group of 250 kids.    

-- Andrew Pinnock and Donnie Edwards of the San Diego Chargers traded their football helmets for red and white striped cat hats and read to more than 150 fifth graders in Escondido, Calif.    

-- The Washington Redskins opened their locker room to more than 125 area children for lunch and a morning of reading.    

NEA’s Weaver added: "NEA is extremely grateful to the more than 50 partners who made this year’s Read Across America a resounding success.  We are especially grateful to Random House Children’s Books, which donated hundreds of thousands of books to individual children, schools and libraries."    

For more information about NEA’s Read Across America activities in your community and for the list of more than 50 participating partners, visit NEA's Read Across America section of our Web site.

March 3, 2004

Contact:
NEA Public Relations, 202-822-7200

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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing 2.7 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.