Tennessee First Lady Crissy Haslam to serve as a Scholastic “Reading Ambassador” to help encourage Summer Reading

Nashville, TN – Tennessee First Lady Crissy Haslam visited Taylor Stratton Elementary in Madison today as part of Scholastic’s 6th Annual Summer Reading Challenge.

The Scholastic Summer Challenge is a free program designed to promote the importance and fun of reading during the summer to combat the “summer slide.” Haslam joined 47 other U.S. Governors’ Spouses, plus the Governors of Illinois, Vermont, and Arizona as a “Reading Ambassador” for the program. As a Reading Ambassador, Haslam will emphasize the importance of reading every day during the summer break.

“Children experience learning losses over the summer from simply being out of school, which can result in lower test scores in the fall and a wider achievement gap between grade-level and improving readers,” said Haslam. “If children and families commit to reading twenty minutes every day this summer, students will return to school prepared for academic success.”

As part of the Summer Challenge program, First Lady Haslam delivered 500 Scholastic books to Taylor Stratton Elementary students to take home with them for the summer break.

“I really enjoyed meeting with students at Taylor Stratton Elementary to talk about the importance of summer reading,” said Haslam.  “I hope that they enjoy the books they take home today and that they continue to develop their reading skills over the summer break.”

Students and families can learn more about participating in Scholastic’s Summer Challenge by visiting www.scholastic.com/summer/