Area YSEA has Read Across America event

Staff report

youngstown

The Youngstown Student Education Association is the campus student chapter of the National Education Association at Youngstown State University.

Each year, YSEA hosts a Read Across America event to celebrate the birthday of children’s author, Dr. Seuss.

According to the National Education Association: “NEA’s Read Across America is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading.”

This year, the YSEA students had the event at the Warren YMCA on March 3 with more than 50 Warren-area students in attendance.

The event was supported by a grant of $1,000 from the National Education Association Student Program’s CLASS Grant program, a SOAR grant and a public- relations minigrant from the North East Ohio Education Association.

CLASS stands for Community Learning through America’s Schools and involves NEA student members volunteering time and energy to help improve their community, and at the same time gaining practical experience and growing as professionals.

NEA CLASS programs and events address key educational issues in the community.

Since 1989, college students on more than 200 campuses across the country have become involved in giving thousands of children hope and promise of a better tomorrow.

The NEA Student Program is a grass-roots organization that serves more than 67,000 students nationwide who are preparing for jobs in the education profession.

NEA-SP goals include providing opportunities for professional development and leadership training and advocating for student member concerns.

“Our Read Across America Event affects the lives of children, parents, volunteers and members of the community as a whole because promoting literacy is very important to the success of students and their future,” said Molly Rogers, president of the Youngstown Student Education Association. “We look forward to holding the event again next year.”