Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida!
Published on: Feb 04, 2022
The 14th Annual Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida! was a huge success. The statewide event highlighted the importance of literacy and inspired students and families to make reading part of their daily lives.
The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) partnered with school districts, state agencies and organizations to kick off the annual literacy celebration. FDOE also worked with the Florida Education Foundation (FEF) and its partners, PNC Bank and Age of Learning, to encourage schools and families to engage in fun and exciting reading experiences.
This year, the Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida! theme was Launch Into Literacy, Blast Off Into New Worlds! The theme encouraged readers to choose books with a variety of settings and also supported the New Worlds Reading Initiative. This initiative is Florida’s first statewide book distribution program offering free, high-quality books to students reading below grade level in kindergarten through grade 5.
Governor Ron DeSantis signed the New Worlds Reading Initiative into law in June, dedicating approximately $200 million to promote excellent reading habits in Florida students. The program already includes more than 81,000 student enrollments!
To join in the Celebrate Literacy, Week! festivities, Governor DeSantis, Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran and House Speaker Chris Sprowls visited Riversink Elementary School in Wakulla County. Find out more about the event here.
During another school visit, kindergarten students at Bond Elementary School in Tallahassee launched into the world of the ocean when FDOE special guests read Swimmy by Leo Lionni. Swimmy is a story that teaches students an important lesson about perseverance, leadership and cooperation. All Bond Elementary kindergarten students received a copy for their personal libraries.
FEF Executive Director Kristin Piccolo said, “After the visit to Bond Elementary, one teacher wrote to us to express how excited her students were to read Swimmy to her one more time before they left for the day. They were so excited to start their libraries at home and we couldn’t be happier to support them in learning to love to read.”
For more information regarding the New Worlds Reading Initiative, visit: https://www.newworldsreading.com/fl/en/home.html
For more information regarding Just Read, Florida!, visit: https://www.fldoe.org/academics/standards/just-read-fl/