The Latest from VEA

“You have to believe,” Princess Moss told the class of fourth-graders at Richmond’s Overby-Sheppard Elementary School on Read Across America Day. Moss, the NEA Secretary-Treasurer and former VEA President, had just finished reading them a book about pursuing your dreams called I’m Gonna Push Right Through. “The bottom line is no mater what you do, where you go, or what you face,” Moss told the youngsters, “always tell yourself, ‘I will push through.’”

Overby-Sheppard was alive with activity on the morning of March 2, the 22nd annual observance of NEA’s Read Across America. Guest readers, including Virginia’s First Lady, Richmond’s mayor and superintendent of schools, first responders and community volunteers, kept classrooms buzzing.

“This is a big day because it promotes reading for everybody,” said Megan Saunders, the school’s lead fifth grade teacher and a Richmond Education Association member. “The kids get to see adults from a lot of different backgrounds talking about their commitment to literacy and how reading can bring us all together.”

NEA estimates that some 45 million students, parents, and educators nationwide will be part of Read Across America activities this year.