December 13, 2004

Mayors Invited to Take Lead Role in Reading Is Fun Week

Statistics show that most students do not read for pleasure on their own time every day, and the older they get, the less they read. Mayors are being invited by Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) to take a lead role in addressing this issue in their cities by encouraging people to "drop everything and read" in recognition of Reading is Fun Week to be held May 15-21, 2005.

The idea is to remind their constituents how much fun reading can be by organizing a community-wide "book break" in the middle of the regular work week and school day. The Conference of Mayors along with RIF hopes that this is a first step in carving out at least 15 minutes each day for "read-in" by adults and children, especially families with young children.

Currently, 37 percent of American fourth graders read below the "basic" level on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Forty million adults in the U.S. cannot read well enough to read a simple story to a child. The number of high school seniors who read at or above "proficient" has been declining since 1992 according to NAEP. Only 45 percent of fourth graders say they read for fun on a daily basis and for eighth graders it drops to 19 percent. Less than half of families read to their kindergarten-age children on a daily basis. What we do know is that when adults interact with babies and young children by talking, singing, playing rhyming games and reading it stimulates language and vocabulary development, and builds an important foundation for learning to read.

Several mayors, such as Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, have begun citywide reading programs. This is an opportunity for mayors to engage the whole community in a positive and important activity. Future articles and other materials will be made available in U.S.Mayor to assist mayors in planning and implementing such a program. For more information contact Fritz Edelstein at the Conference (fritz@usmayors.org or 202-861-6737). Mayors can start with a pledge signing or a mayoral proclamation about reading.