The University of West Alabama will participate in the annual nationwide literacy initiative, “Read Across America,” on Monday, March 3, at Livingston Elementary School and the UWA Campus School. The initiative is sponsored by faculty in the Julia S. Tutwiler College of Education.

All members of the UWA community are invited to volunteer to read to area school children during the event.

Time slots are available from 8:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. for reading at Livingston Elementary School. At UWA Campus School, slots are available from 9 to 11 a.m. and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Individuals and groups alike are encouraged to participate at one or both schools.

Led by the National Education Association (NEA), Read Across America features the popular Cat in the Hat from the Dr. Seuss series of children’s books. Dr. Seuss is noted for encouraging childhood reading: “You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read with a child.”

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, only 53 percent of children ages three to five were read to daily by a family member. The NCES suggests that children in families with incomes below the poverty line are less likely to be read to aloud everyday than are children in families with incomes at or above poverty.

To learn more of volunteer to read to Livingston school children, please contact Dr. Esther Howard at ehoward@uwa.edu by Friday, Feb. 28 to indicate your time preference(s).

To learn more or volunteer to read at UWA Campus School, contact Annie Upchurch at aupchurch@uwa.edu by Friday, Feb. 28 to indicate your time preference.