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Make Dr. Seuss Proud: Read Across America On March 3

Sylvan Learning partners with National Education Association to spread the joy of reading locally and across North America

(BALTIMORE – March 3, 2008)—Research has shown a link between a child’s academic success and his or her reading experience at home. To get students excited about reading and encourage more adults to spend time reading with children, Sylvan Learning is partnering with the National Education Association (NEA) to celebrate the 11th anniversary of NEA’s Read Across America and the 104th birthday of the late Dr. Seuss celebrated this year on Monday, March 3, 2008.

“The more children read, the more they'll enjoy reading and the better readers they’re likely to become,” said Richard E. Bavaria, Ph.D. and senior vice president of education outreach for Sylvan Learning, the nation’s leading provider of supplemental assistance for children in grades preK–12. “NEA’s Read Across America Day is a day to celebrate the joy of reading and recognize the importance of reading in school and throughout life. We love reading. And, as educational partners, the National Education Association and Sylvan Learning want all children to love reading as well.”

Encouraging children to read helps transform reading from a basic skill to a learned behavior and an intellectual habit. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2004 national reading assessment of fourth-grade students found that reading for fun had a positive relationship to performance on NAEP reading scores. The 87 percent of students who reported reading for fun on their own time once a month or more performed at the proficient level, while students who never or hardly ever read for fun performed at the basic level. Students who read for fun every day scored the highest.

“Just as the fun words of Dr. Seuss make children want to turn the pages again and again, NEA’s Read Across America revs up young readers by showing them that reading can be fun—one rhyme at a time,” said NEA President Reg Weaver. “Part of Read Across America’s phenomenal success is its diverse participation from more than 45 million readers nationwide. With the Sylvan Learning Center’s help, our commitment to building a nation of readers can be realized.”
From coast-to-coast, Sylvan educators will join teachers, students, and parents to encourage a love of reading in local communities by creating reading events to literally read across North America! To find out what’s happening when Seuss is on the loose, visit www.nea.org/readacross.

To encourage a love of reading, Sylvan offers a variety of tools for parents searching for ways to nurture their child’s reading behaviors, including grade-specific tips, ideas for reading at home and helpful hints for raising enthusiastic readers. For additional information visit the “Parent Resources” section of www.educate.com or call 1-800-31-SUCCESS.

About Sylvan Learning, Inc.

Sylvan Learning is the leading provider of in-center and live, online tutoring at home to students of all ages, grades and skill levels. With approximately 30 years of experience and nearly 1,100 centers located throughout North America, Sylvan’s proven process and personalized methods have inspired more than 2 million students to discover the joy of learning. Sylvan’s trained and certified personal instructors provide individual instruction in reading, writing, mathematics, study skills and test-prep for college entrance and state exams. Sylvan helps transform unique kids into uniquely inspired learners with the skills to do better in school and the confidence to do better in everything else. For more information, call 1-800-31-SUCCESS or visit http://tutoring.sylvanlearning.com.

About the National Education Association

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. For more information, visit www.nea.org.