BUFFALO, N.Y. — Spring may be in full swing, but Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown is already looking ahead to summer!
His goal is to plant the seeds early, to inspire young people in the Queen City to join the 23rd Annual "Reading Rules Kid's Summer Reading Challenge."
"The more we can engage kids to reading and math over the summer, the better they'll perform when they return," Mayor Brown said. "They may not increase their skills, but they won't regress."
The annual program challenges students to read five books and write at least five summaries, between now and the August 16th deadline. It's an effort to also help prevent the so-called "summer slide" that causes some children, especially those from low-income families, to lose some of the achievement gains they made during the previous school year.
"We see students who participated in the Reading Rules Program who are now teachers in the Buffalo Public School system, that are police officers, that are firefighters, that are doctors, that are lawyers," said Mayor Brown.
Local leaders say the program helps to promote year-round learning, while making sure literacy rates don't fall.
"So we know many of the young people who have participated in this program over 23 years have done very well and are great role models for the community, and that is what the program is all about," the Mayor added.
Every "champion reader" will be entered into a prize raffle drawing and be invited to a special ceremony. The Buffalo Public Library carries all the books on the summer reading list.
In total, nearly 30,000 students have completed the program since it began.
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