Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell joined multiple county officials, state representatives, and other community members at Kellyville schools last week to participate in in Read Across America.
“Reading is fundamental,” said Pinnell, who took the time to read Dr. Seuss’s Oh The Thinks You Can Think to a group of Kellyville 1st Graders. “The emphasis we put on reading will help kids master whatever they want in the future.”
National Read Across America occurs each year in celebration of the beloved children’s book author Dr. Seuss’ birthday. On this day, students, teachers, parents, and community members around the nation come together to read books and celebrate the joy of reading.
Pinnell, who’s primary responsibilities for the state include promoting tourism and commerce in the Sooner State, answered questions from the students about his choice of college (he went to ORU), as well as his favorite animals and colors.
Pinnell is an advocate for public education; Teacher pay, class sizes, stabilizing funding are all things he finds important. “We need not just good schools, but great schools,” he says.
In addition to being an advocate for for reading, he’s couldn’t pass up an opportunity to tout the importance of the tourism that Route 66 can bring to the state—a highway that both Kellyville and Sapulpa sit on.
“We want people to want to spend not just a day in Oklahoma, but a week,” he said.
More about Read Across America
The National Education Association (NEA) website reports they have been leading the Read Across America initiative since 1998 and their primary purpose is to work for the betterment of public education.
A presidential proclamation states in part “Reading ignites imagination, insight, and inspiration. It nourishes a child’s creativity and curiosity, and inspires a passion for lifelong learning. Books can challenge and inspire. They can teach important lessons, reveal new worlds, and enrich our understanding of our own — of different people, perspectives, and cultures.
For more information on Read Across America’s full year of activities visit okea.org/for-members/member-resources/raa/
Isabel Widdoes and Sheri Waldrop contributed to this story.
