Mission, Texas- Mission CISD’s (Consolidated Independent School District) Tom Landry Stadium will be full of cheering and activities the morning of Tuesday, May 19 at 9:30 a.m. However, it won’t be for an athletic event. Over 7,700 elementary students will make the trip from their schools to the stadium for a special Reading Rally to kick off the district’s elementary school summer reading program.
Students and teachers are being encouraged to come to the rally dressed as their favorite book characters. The event will also feature music and fun activities.
The Reading Rally is a part of Mission CISD’s Read to Lead program that is designed to impact student achievement in all subjects and the community through family involvement.
As a part of the elementary school summer reading program, each student will be given a backpack with two books to be read over the summer, along with an interactive journal for students to complete before school starts again in late August. The book titles students receive will be based upon their grade level.
“This summer program is just the starting point of helping our students build their reading skills, and also to discover that reading can be fun,” said Cris Valdez, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. “We need to help them explore the different genres of books on their own, for pleasure reading.”
Valdez also indicated one of the main purposes of a summer reading program is to help fight the summer slide that happens while students are away from school. Sumer programs are designed to help students retain more of what they have learned the previous school year.
“This goes beyond the fact that reading plays an integral part of learning in all subject areas,” said Dr. Ricardo López. “We are hoping to help transform our community through improving literacy. I am excited to see how our Read to Lead efforts begin to take root in our homes in the coming months.”
Summer reading programs are being developed for junior high and high school grades. These will use a combination of traditional print and electronic formats.
The district’s Read to Lead initiative had an unofficial kick off when all of Mission CISD’s elementary schools participated in the Texas Reads One Book program on April 27.
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