World Read Aloud Day Celebrated At Edison Elementary

Edison Elementary School celebrated its first annual World Read Aloud Day on Wednesday, March 6, in an effort to share their love of reading with the Port Chester community and to inspire people worldwide to champion literacy. 

Launched in 2010 by the LitWorld organization, World Read Aloud Day has now grown to reach over 65 countries worldwide, with hundreds of thousands of participants in 2012. This event was about taking action to show the world that the right to read and write belongs to all people.

It was an effort to motivate children and adults alike to celebrate the power of words, especially those words that are shared from one person to another, and creates a community of readers advocating for every child's right to a safe education and access to books and technology. 

Spearheading this literacy celebration was Marcia Manzueta, special education teacher at Edison and King Street elementary schools, who experienced it first at her son’s school in Yorktown.

“I was inspired watching children and adults read and share thoughts and time together," Manzueta said. "Port Chester is a diverse community of people and experiences and I pictured the same event bringing our students and community members together through literature.”

Edison Elementary School invited members of the Port Chester Community who joined the students as read-aloud guests including: Kiah Thomas (Edison graduate), Tee Cotter (Port Chester Children's Librarian), Bart Didden (Village Trustee), Paul Rively (local artist), Pastor Jim OHanlon (St. Pauls Lutheran Church), Greg Adams (Former Village Trustee), Hattie Adams (Port Chester Housing Authority) Carolee Brakewood (Board of Education member), Susan Covino (Port Chester Council for the Arts), Dolores Obuch (Former King Street School principal), many school administrators and more.

This was a wonderful opportunity for the students at Edison to be exposed to the joy and accomplishments that others have gained through their lifetime of reading. Manzueta says, “It is our hope that the entire district embraces this movement in 2014.”