RAA Super Bowl Kicks Off in Florida

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: Staci Maiers, NEA
January 28, 2009 (202) 270-5333 cell, smaiers@nea.org

Bucs trade helmets for Seuss ‘reading’ hats

NEA’s Read Across America hits Super Bowl XLIII to rev up young readers

 

TAMPA/ST. PETERSBURG—Hundreds of schoolchildren scored some reading touchdowns when they huddled today with stars of the gridiron to kick off NEA’s Read Across America, the nation’s largest reading celebration.

While millions of football fans await the outcome of Super Bowl XLIII, students showed they got game across Tampa Bay when National Football League players provided reading inspiration at two area elementary schools.

Students at Tampa’s B.C. Graham Elementary School had a packed reading roster with hometown hero Brian Griese, quarterback with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, sharing Seuss favorite, “The Cat in the Hat.” Later in the day at Maximo Microsociety and Visual Arts Elementary School in St. Petersburg, Bucs Cortez Hankton and Luke McCown tackled Seuss classics “Green Eggs and Ham” and “Horton Hears A Who!” to get the kids revved up for reading.

“Whether it’s a classic by Shakespeare or a football playbook, reading is the solid foundation to academic—as well as athletic—success,” said FEA President Andy Ford. “These professional athletes can help students understand the importance of getting into the game of reading.”

The super read-ins—sponsored by the National Education Association; its state affiliate, the Florida Education Association; and the NFL Players Association—provided a sneak peek to the upcoming Read Across America Day on March 2, which culminates every year on Dr. Seuss’s birthday with more than 45 million expected to participate nationwide.

In celebration of Super Bowl XLIII, Poisoned Pen Press, an independent publisher of high-quality mystery and nonfiction work, donated 43,000 books to Hillsborough and Pinellas high school students to keep reading on the calendar even after the excitement of the Super Bowl leaves.

“It is with great pride and joy that we are able to introduce ‘The Great Mystery Book Giveaway’ during Super Bowl XLIII by donating 43,000 books this year to Central Florida schools in need,” said Robert Rosenwald, publisher of the Scottsdale, Ariz., book company. “Thanks to our partnership with the NFL Players Association and NEA’s Read Across America, ‘The Great Mystery Book Giveaway’ will be an annual program though which we will put books in the hands of middle and high school students who don’t have access to such needed resources and encourage them to develop a life-long passion for reading.”

More information on NEA’s Read Across America can be found at www.nea.org/readacross. Get in the game during the off-season with the NFL Players Association at www.nflplayers.com. And to learn about Poisoned Pen Press and The Great Mystery Book Giveaway, visit www.poisonedpenpress.com .

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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing 3.2 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.