First lady of Tennessee Crissy Haslam was at Smithville Elementary School Wednesday morning on a visit with a mission — to encourage students to read more in and out of the classroom as part of the Read20 initiative. To admonish children to read and or to have their parents read to them twenty minutes a day.
Haslam took a tour of the school and then talked with and read to students at each grade level from the book “What Pet Should I Get” by Dr. Seuss.
Smithville Elementary was selected by the state Education Department to host the first lady’s visit in an effort to increase reading proficiency and encourage students to continue to read when they’re not in school.
“I was so excited last week when I received an email from her (Crissy Haslam’s) office asking if we would be interested in a visit. I replied back saying “of course we would be interested.” “It’s a wonderful honor to have her here. There are five schools in this county and the State Department of Education gave her our name to come and visit. I think that is a tribute to the hard work that our students do and the hard work that our faculty and staff do. It’s just a privilege to have her here with us. We’re so excited,” Smithville Elementary School Principal Julie Vincent told WJLE.
“I think I’ve read a book to every child in the school in big groups at the gym and library,” said Haslam. “I have been talking to them about the importance of reading. That children need to be a strong reader by the end of third grade. I talked to them about reading twenty minutes a day and getting their parents to read to them twenty minutes a day. I talked to them about reading over the summer time so that they don’t slide backward in their reading ability. And I talked to them about how important it is to read to be ready for everything that comes later in life whether it’s middle school, high school, college, or work. I asked them what they wanted to be when they grow up? It’s really necessary to be a good reader for just about anything you’re going to do in life,” Haslam told WJLE.
Haslam plans to visit one school in each of the state’s 95 counties by the end of the year, all to push the importance of reading. “I am traveling all over the state. I am trying to take my message to every county. I started a while back and I have about eighteen counties left to visit. It’s a great thing to do. If you want to have a good day come to an elementary school. They will cheer you up,” said Haslam.