March 03 2008: Children of the City celebrates Dr. Seuss Day
Volunteers from Brooklyn Tech High School and West Brooklyn Community High School gathered to honor National Dr. Seuss Day by reading to inner-city children. According to The Department of Justice, 21 million Americans can’t read at all, 45 million are marginally illiterate and one-fifth of high school graduates can’t read their diplomas.
“Reading is so essential in the development of a child,” said Joyce Mattera, Founder and Executive Director. “With a 48% dropout rate in the communities we serve, and approxiately 50% of the nation’s unemployed youth ages 16-21 reported as functional illiterate, we have to act now to ensure our children can read well and comprehend what they are reading. The books by Dr. Suess make children want to read.”
Almost 30 volunteer students donated several hours of their time on Monday March 3, 2008 to read Dr. Seuss stories and participate in Dr. Seuss related activities in honor of Read Across America. The students led group reading, and one-on-one reading, followed by a time of Dr. Suess related learning activities, all designed to reinforce positive reading habits in the lives of students.
