JOHNSTON COUNTY – During the week of July 15th, Read to Grow Johnston County celebrated National Summer Learning Week by hosting their Paws for Reading events for the fourth consecutive year. Spanning from Benson to Kenly, Clayton to Princeton, children throughout the county adopted stuffed reading pals and pledged to read to them for 20 minutes each day during the summer.
Over 338 young readers across 11 events took home a new book and heard a story from a local celebrity, including County Commissioner Butch Lawter, Smithfield Mayor Andy Moore, and Smithfield Town Councilman Marlon Lee.
Parents benefited too. They learned new ways to support their child’s literacy journey by implementing strategies such as making a reading routine, checking out new library books, and reading as a family.
National Summer Learning Week emphasizes the importance of learning throughout the summer to ensure children return to school ready to succeed. Read to Grow members believe summer is a crucial time period that can serve as an opportunity for children performing below grade level to catch up to their higher-achieving peers.
The success of these events is credited to a strong collaboration with many of the county’s public libraries, all of the wonderful celebrity readers, and the work of volunteers from the Summer Learning Loss Action Team.
