The more that you read, the more things you will know… P.S. 186 hosted V.I.P readers, even in the snow!
Indeed, some 60 guest readers participated in the event at the Bensonhurst school, taking part in a more than 10-year-old tradition.
The first Monday in March at the elementary school saw the likes of politicians, police officers, parents, and prominent community members for the celebration that tied together Silly Hat Day, Dr. Seuss’ birthday, and National Read across America Day.
“I think it’s really important, personally, for children to see how much adults love to read,” said Elaine Delaney, the school’s parent coordinator and organizer of the event. “And what better way than to have our parents, because V.I.P stands for very important person, plus very important parent, come in and share their love of reading with the kids and have all of our community members come in for the program.”
Some V.I.P readers for the day included John Quaglione, press secretary for State Senator Marty Golden; Jordyn Buslione, director of member services at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce; Fran Vella-Marrone, president of the Dyker Heights Civic Association; Democratic District Leader Nancy Tong; Susan Cardisi of the Leukemia Lymphoma Society; Kimberly Fasano of Reaching Out Community Services; Brandon Westbrook of the American Cancer Society; police officers from the 62nd Precinct and many more.
Vivianne Barreto, director of the School’s NIA ExpandEd after school program, said that participants were able to choose from a variety of Dr. Seuss books or “choose a favorite of their own” to read to the students.
“Readers can go into the classrooms, and they pretty much touch upon every single class,” said Barreto. “That’s basically how the day goes. The invitation goes out via e-mail and we invite so many different people.”
“This is a really exciting day for us,” said school Principal Bayan Cadotte. “We’re really very excited to just bring the community together with P.S. 186 to share their love of reading and get the kids excited. This is how we all grow and become better readers.”
The reading fun continued into the school’s afterschool program during which Delaney mentioned students would be read to by King Henry and representatives from local medical offices and the Fort Hamilton Army Base.
